Pelicans Earn Much-Needed Win, Lose Ingram
NEW ORLEANS - Prior to Wednesday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green said, "it's go time."
That simple directive must have resonated with his players as the Pelicans defeated the Mavericks 113-106.
It wasn't easy though. While the Pelicans won the game, they also lost another player to injury.
The Mavericks went nuclear from three-point range in the fourth quarter to cut what had been a 19-point lead all the way down to five. Dallas made 10 three pointers in the final 12 minutes, but CJ McCollum had an answer for nearly each one of them.
McCollum scored 16 consecutive points for New Orleans in the final five minutes, and his floater with :44.1 gave the Pelicans just enough cushion to secure the win.
He finished with a game-high 32 points, his most since scoring 38 against Boston on Jan. 11.
Kyrie Irving had 27 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, to pace the Mavs.
New Orleans snapped a trio of two-game losing streaks. The Pels had lost two straight overall, two straight at the Smoothie King Center, and two straight against the Mavericks.
The Pelicans open their critical four-game home stand with a victory as they try to hold to their position among the Western Conference's postseason contenders.
After a slow start, the Pelicans went into the second quarter all square with the visitors, the game tied at 24.
In the second quarter, New Orleans opened on a 15-4 run that was sparked by Jaxson Hayes on the inside and some surprisingly effective shooting from the outside.
Hayes was particularly effective against the Dallas front court. He scored 14 points on the night on perfect 6-of-6 shooting. On another one of his seemingly annual late season surges, Hayes is averaging 10.8 points on 83.3 percent shooting over his last four games.
McCollum, Naji Marshall and Josh Richardson each knocked down three-pointers, while Hayes punished the rim with three emphatic dunks.
Herbert Jones set the tone on the other end of the floor with his relentless defense on Luka Doncic. Luka was just 3-for-13 from the floor in the half, 0-for-6 in the second quarter.
The Pelicans closed the period just as hot as they started it, going into the locker room on a 16-6 run and claiming a 59-43 lead at the break.
New Orleans was able to hold Dallas off even without Brandon Ingram being available in the second half after spraining his ankle late in the second quarter. B.I. walked off the court on his own, but was unable to return to action for the final two periods.
Instead the Pelicans got a balanced effort with five players reaching double figures.
Trey Murphy III got the start and answered the call with 16 points and six rebounds. He found his shooting stroke as well, converting three of five from beyond the arc.
Besides playing stellar defense, Jones added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Ingram scored 12 to go along with four assists and five rebounds in his 18 first half minutes.
As a team, the Pelicans shot the ball very well. New Orleans made nearly 51 percent of its shots, including a sparkling 48 percent from three-point range (13-of-27); their fourth-best performance from deep all season.
Unsurprisingly, the Pels are 7-1 when making at least 45 percent of their three-pointers this season.
All told, it was a major win for a team that needed one in the worst way. The Pelicans will get two days off before hosting Oklahoma City and Portland back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. New Orleans is a combined 4-1 against those teams (1-1 at home) so far.
Ingram's injury takes some luster off of the victory, but on Wednesday the Pelicans showed the kind of resilience that they displayed on the way to the playoffs a year ago.
If that team has re-emerged, perhaps New Orleans can stabilize itself and make one more run.
Read More Pelicans Scoop Articles:
- Coach Green Comments On Team's Body Language
- CJ McCollum Career At A Crossroads
- Handicapping the Playoff Race
- NBA Championship Formula Revisited
- Willie Green's Rotations Need More Time To Build Rhythm
- Herb Jones As Center Unlocks Options For Pelicans
- 5 Lineups To Lean On, And Learn From, These Last 5 Weeks
