Pelicans Not Ready For Prime Time; Suffer Blowout Loss To Knicks
The slide for the New Orleans Pelicans continues.
It wasn't the biggest loss of the season, but it might have been the worst.
What began with an airball from Herb Jones ended in a 128-106 blowout loss to the New York Knicks. New York raced out to a 42-26 lead after one quarter, continuing the Pelicans' recent trend of slow starts.
The Pelicans would never lead and the 22-point margin of defeat is second only a 25-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 29.
Adding injury to injury, forward Larry Nance Jr. had to be helped off the floor and into the locker room after suffering an ankle sprain in the first half.
Brandon Ingram's seven-game streak of scoring 25 points or more came to an abrupt end as Ingram was held to 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the floor.
B.I. was one of five Pels to reach double figures. Josh Richardson started and scored 16 while collecting four steals. CJ McCollum finished with 13 points, Trey Murphy came off the bench to score 11, while Jonas Valanciunas picked up another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Julius Randle scored a game-high 28 points in 33 minutes to lead the Knicks. RJ Barrett added 25 points, and Jalen Brunson scored 20 more. Mitchell Robinson had a double-double of his own with 11 points and 13 boards. Former Pelican Josh Hart did damage off the bench, with 15 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and two assists, while making five of his six shot attempts.
The Knicks were red-hot until they went deep into the bench was the victory had been assured. New York connected on 51 percent of its shots and made 19 three pointers, tying their season-high.
Meanwhile, New Orleans couldn't find the basket from any distance.
As a team the Pelicans shot 39 percent from the floor, and misfired on 30 of their 38 attempts from beyond the three point line.
The Pelicans have now been held below 110 points in 21 games this season. In those games New Orleans has claimed victory only three times.
14 of those games have come since Jan. 1.
Things haven't been much better defensively, either.
Interestingly enough, the Pelicans have allowed teams to score 120 points or more in 21 games as well. Their record in those games is also 3-18.
Ten of those games have come since Jan. 1.
Head coach Willie Green was once again left searching for answers to explain his team's lack of effort and execution.
"We have to be better," he said. "The first order of business is we have to play harder."
"We have to better and I gotta hold our guys more accountable, hold myself more accountable. That standard in which we played with tonight is not us."
It may not be the standard, but it is the team's current reality.
The Pelicans have lost three straight, and four of their last five and pending late results on Saturday, could find themselves on the outside of the Western Conference's top 10 for the first time this season.
Next up, the Orlando Magic. The Pelicans will be looking to avoid not only a fourth consecutive loss, but also a season sweep by the Magic.
Read Pelicans Scoop Articles:
- Pelicans Take On Josh Hart Again With Knicks
- CJ McCollum Career At A Crossroads
- Pelicans Face a Close, Wild Finish in the NBA West
- Handicapping the Playoff Race
- NBA Championship Formula Revisited
- Willie Green's Rotations Need More Time To Build Rhythm
- Pelicans Have 25 Games to Save Season
- Struggle Is Real For Pelicans Post All-Star Break
