Dylan Harper crushed the hearts of all Pelicans fans at Smoothie King Center Monday night with his game-winning layup in the Spurs' 134-131 win. It was a bit ironic that Harper was the one to hit the dagger, as at one point last season, many fans believed he could have been a Pelican if the draft lottery had gone their way.
Out of all 22 of the Pelicans' losses this season, this one was definitely painful in the moment, as losing in the clutch is always going to suck. But when looking at the bigger picture, it was an encouraging loss.
At one point, San Antonio was up by 25, and the Pelicans clawed and fought their way back into this game, even taking a 132-131 lead with 30 seconds left. All season long, this team has taken the third quarter off, but they flipped that script by outscoring the Spurs 45-23 in the third.
Rookie big man Derik Queen led this charge as he recorded his first career triple-double, with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Once Queen found his rhythm running the offense, it completely disrupted San Antonio’s defense. As the Spurs began double-teaming him, Queen consistently made the right reads and punished them by finding open teammates.
This game also reminded us of Herb Jones importance
Even though the Pelicans gave up 134 points as a team, the eye test showed just how impactful Jones is for this team. During his eight-game absences, New Orleans didn't have the guy they could trust to stop the ball consistently or generate turnovers.
The Pelicans forced 13 Spurs turnovers and recorded eight steals and seven blocks, with Jones' presence being the main reason for that. He also accounted for half of the team's steals and one of the team's seven blocks.
He also had the defensive highlight of the game, stealing the ball with under two minutes to play, which led to a transition alley-oop for Trey Murphy III to put the Pels within two points of a tie, 129- 127.
Jones was also impressive offensively, perhaps his best offensive outing of the season, despite shooting 0/3 from three. He finished the game with 16 points on an efficient 60 percent from the field, along with six rebounds and four assists.
Also, a special shoutout to Trey Murphy III, who had a tough first half, shooting just 4/11 from the field, but scored 23 points in the second half on 9/10 shooting.