Instant Reactions to the New Orleans Pelicans 109-99 Win Over Memphis

New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart was the player of the game.

Josh Hart Battled

Josh Hart may not have led the team in scoring, but he was the player of the game.

He grabbed some tough rebounds in traffic, played with energy and heart all night, and hit two huge three-pointers when the Pelicans were struggling to score.

He ended the night playing 25 minutes and scored 15 points with seven rebounds, going five for six from the field and hitting two of his three shots from long-range.

Stats don’t always tell the whole story and Hart was doing a lot of things that don’t show up in the stats.

The Pelicans went small in the third quarter and Hart’s rebounding was the only thing keeping them from getting worked on the boards.

The Pelicans were also struggling to score, the offense had went stagnant and Hart hit a huge off balance three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down.

The momentum had swung at that point and if Hart doesn’t hit that shot, the game could have went another way.

Alvin Gentry was smart to tighten up his rotations, and give Hart more minutes, as he played well in both the first two games.