3 Instant Takeaways from the New Orleans Pelicans 106-104 Loss to Utah

Points in the paint killed the New Orleans Pelicans.

Points in the Paint

Once Utah figured out that they could get to the rim at will, the game was over.

The Jazz had 56 points in the paint with 9:00 to go in the fourth quarter and just kept pounding the ball inside.

This was partly because the Pels are not big and don’t have any shot blockers other than Jaxson Hayes, who made a strong case for himself tonight.

But the Pels weren’t stopping the dribble penetration and gave up lob after lob to the Jazz bigs.

Jordan Clarkson got the rim with impunity, which offset the fact that the Pelicans did a very good job against Donovan Mitchell all night.

The Pels guards did a poor job stopping dribble penetration and the bigs didn’t do much to sway the Jazz once they got into the paint.

Overall it was a very winnable game and the New Orleans Pelicans have to be kicking themselves for giving up such a big lead.

The game was there for the taking but execution matters when the games slow down and the Pels didn’t get it done.

They will be back against the Clippers but this loss will sting for awhile.