The New Orleans Pelicans drop a tough loss to the New York Knicks 130-125. After battling hard all night, the Knicks simply made more timely shots and came up with more stops down the stretch. Many times this season, the Pelicans have lost games, and I've been harsh—but tonight was different. This is a loss a young team should be proud of.
I wanna start with the guy who returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for seven straight games: Zion Williamson.
Big Z came out of the gates ready in this one, posting 18 points in the first half, 15 of which came in the second quarter. He finished the game with 32 points, five rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and two assists. The big key for Williamson in this one was his ability to draw contact, getting to the line 12 times and helping put Karl-Anthony Towns in foul trouble.
My second player on my takeaways is Saddiq Bey, who, despite finishing the game rather cold with just three points from the second to fourth quarter, started the game with 23 points in the first frame. On nights like this, it’s a luxury to have a player like Bey, especially with both Trey Murphy III and Williamson starting slow. He can be relied on as a primary bucket-getter when needed.
Another guy who was an elite bucket-getter not only to start this game but for the whole night was Jordan Poole, who had 10 of his 26 points in the first quarter. JP got to the foul line early and was clearly in rhythm from that point on, and oh boy, when Poole is in rhythm, there ain't many players I'd rather have with the ball in their hand.
Other Notables
Other performances that impressed me included Kevon Looney's play, who had been out of the rotation for 11 games and came into this matchup ready.
With no Mitchell Robinson and no Josh Hart, Looney was able to feast on the boards, pulling in nine rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. He really was the perfect player for this matchup, especially with New York missing two of the league's most elite hustle players. After being dominated on the boards in the two games prior, the Pelicans won that battle, along with the second-chance battle, and Looney was a huge reason why.
I also really liked Looney's minutes when sharing the court with Derik Queen, as I felt they complemented one another very well. Looney picks up for Queen's lack of size and rebounding while also staying out of his way on offense. I am hoping we see more of this combination moving forward.
Trey Murphy III was also excellent despite having one of the league's best defenders in OG Anunoby on him all night—he still managed to finish the game with 21 points and five threes. Murphy III struggled big time in the first half as Anunoby was clearly getting the best of him, but in the second half, he responded while going 5-for-7 from the field over the final two quarters.
One last shoutout goes to Micah Peavy, who had just three points in ten minutes but finished third on the team in plus-minus. He did a strong job in limited stretches guarding Jalen Brunson and made his impact felt beyond the box score.