The New Orleans Pelicans stayed hot against the Utah Jazz, dominating their Western Conference rival at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pels doubled up the Jazz in the first quarter and never looked back, building a 37 point lead at one point on a night that Utah would rather forget.
Donovan Mitchell sang the praises of Herbert Jones after the game and will probably have nightmares about his 5-of-18 night against the rookie straight jacket.
The Pelicans are rolling and just a half game behind the Lakers for the 9th seed in the West.
Here are three quick takeaways from the big win over Utah.
The Pelicans stay red hot
The Pels have now won four in a row in dominant fashion. Their average margin of victory is 26 over that stretch. They’ve scored 124 points per game and only allowed 93.3, which is impressive when you consider that they’ve played the Suns, Kings, Lakers and Jazz over their last four games.
The New Orleans Pelicans are building an elite defense
The Pelicans have been the NBA’s best defensive team since the All-Star break, allowing just 95 points per game after giving up just 90 last night to the high-scoring Jazz.
They are building an identity around defense and are no longer the team from last season that could score 140 points and allow 150 to the other team.
The Pels have climbed to 13th in the NBA in points allowed per game, a huge difference from last season when they were near the bottom of the league. They have improved by nearly seven points per game defensively and Willie Green deserves a lot of the credit.
Herb Jones should make All-Defense
Herb Jones continued his run at the All-Defense team last night, shutting down Donovan Mitchell and playing great help defense all over the floor. It’s hard to believe this guy is a rookie, as he always seems to be in the right position and his teammates can count on him to be there if they get beaten. He was all over the Jazz last night, and Utah went just 2-of-12 on shots where he was the closest defender.
Correction from Second Spectrum: The updated tracking data has the Jazz shooting 2-for-12 against Herb Jones as the closest defender with Mitchell going 1-for-7 with Herb as the closest defender.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) March 5, 2022
(The one make was Spida's first 3, where Herb was fighting through a Gobert screen) https://t.co/L3CDnhqjeM
Mitchell recognized Herb’s defense after the game, and as more elite players learn the lesson “Not on Herb,” his case for the All-Defense team becomes even stronger.
The Pelicans have turned their season around and went from a 1-12 start to the play-in tournament and one of the hottest teams in the league.
Up Next: The Pelicans hit the road for two tough games against the Nuggets and Grizzlies.