Krewe De Pew: Pelicans Deliver Stinker In Loss To Cavs
New Orleans - The New Orleans Pelicans tried to get their fans into the Carnival spirit, but the good times rarely rolled on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center as the Pels were rolled over by the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-118.
The final score was not indicative of how the game was played. Cleveland, which swept the season series, led by as many as 25 points. New Orleans held a three-point advantage briefly in the first quarter.
New Orleans saw its three game winning streak come to a very disappointing end after impressive victories over the Lakers, Kings, and Hawks.
Cleveland picked up its fifth consecutive victory.
Brandon Ingram led five Pelicans in double figures with 25 points and added eight assists.
The Pelicans are 11-11 with Ingram in the lineup this season.
B.I. opened the scoring with a dunk. Donovan Mitchell answered quickly with a lay-up of his own, starting his path to a game-high 30 points.
A three-pointer from Trey Murphy and a hook by Jonas Valanciunas gave the Pelicans their early lead, but from there it all Cavs.
New Orleans trailed by 10 after the first quarter and 17 at the half after allowing Cleveland to score 73 points over the opening 24 minutes.
While Mitchell was hot, scoring 21 of his 30 in the first half, the Cavs were paced by their interior duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
They combined for 31 points (13-17 FGA), 16 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a blocked shot as Cleveland dominated inside.
"We can’t walk into games like we did tonight...38 points in the first quarter, 35 points in the second quarter, and our guys know that," said head coach Willie Green after the game. "Our margin for error is small. We can’t allow teams to get out to leads like that. Tonight, across the board offensively and defensively we were not clicking on all cylinders.”
New Orleans was outscored 58-70 in the paint on the evening. The 70 points allowed were 20 more than the Pelicans' season average, and nearly 18 more than the Cavs were averaging.
Cleveland was able to dominate the offensive glass as well, something that particularly bothered Green.
"That game is not an example of who we are and who we have been." Green said. "That is an area where will have to continue to try and get better, but just a lack of toughness in my opinion.”
The Pelicans' remaining schedule prior to the All-Star break does not lack toughness. New Orleans, 9-18 on the road this season, travels to Oklahoma City before finishing up in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
The Pels lead the season series with OKC 2-0, while the Lakers will be looking to hold serve at home after the Pelicans evened their series at one game apiece last weekend.
New Orleans won't return home until Feb. 27th when the Pelicans host the Orlando Magic.
With the loss the Pelicans (29-28) dip to eighth in the Western Conference standings, both one game from avoiding the play-in and one game from missing the postseason completely.
As Willie Green said, the Pelicans have little room for error with less than one-third of the season remaining.
Read More Pelicans Scoop Articles
- Pelicans Dump Graham's Contract for Richardson
- Willie Green Talks About Coaching Staff's Priorities
- Willie Green After 10th Loss: "Stay the Course!"
- Report: Bally Sports Owners Facing Bankruptcy
- Shooting, Not Size, A Trade Priority
- Willie Green Gives Thoughts On Possible Changes
- Pelicans Top 5 Takeaways From 2-Game Win Streak
