Pelicans win series 4-0
Franchise history was made in more ways than one Saturday – New Orleans posted its first-ever sweep of an NBA playoff series, while the team’s all-time single-game scoring record was cleared not by one but two Pelicans. Anthony Davis piled up 47 points and Jrue Holiday poured in 41 points, both surpassing the previous record of 38 points, set by David West during the 2008 postseason. That was also the only other time New Orleans has advanced to the second round in its 16 years of existence.
Despite being on the verge of elimination and facing a deficit no team has ever overcome in NBA history, Portland scratched and clawed Saturday, putting up a much better fight than it did in Thursday’s Game 3. The Trail Blazers made it a tight affair in the fourth quarter and had a chance to break through for an initial win in the series, but Davis and Holiday proved too much down the stretch. New Orleans had gone up by as many as 15 points in the second half, before Portland surged back into the hunt.
New Orleans became the first No. 6 seed to sweep a No. 3 seed in Round 1 since the playoff format changed to a best-of-seven in the conference quarterfinals, back in '03. The Pelicans will now await their next opponent, which coincidentally could feature previous franchise record-holder West. Golden State leads San Antonio 3-0 in the other half of the bracket, with a chance for West and the Warriors to sweep the Spurs on Sunday afternoon.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Replay review proved extremely favorable for New Orleans, with Holiday sticking a jumper after it had been initially ruled that he was out of bounds on a dribble. Holiday’s shot put New Orleans up 129-123 with 40 seconds left. Davis then blocked an Al-Farouq Aminu three-point attempt, all but sealing the outcome.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Davis and Holiday have played many excellent games together over their five seasons as teammates, but Saturday was the crowning achievement, with both topping the 40-point mark, both scoring more points than anyone else during New Orleans’ playoff history, and Holiday producing the best offensive output of his nine-year NBA career (regular season or postseason).
The man who helped bring it all together, Rajon Rondo noted in his postgame media session that he was extremely impressed by the duo’s efficiency, as they combined to shoot 30/47 from the field. Davis went 15/24 from the field, along with 15/17 at the stripe, while Holiday’s numbers were 15/23 and 9/12 in those categories. Portland had no answer for either player throughout the series, something that culminated in a memorable exclamation point in Game 4.
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
E’Twaun Moore helped set the tone for a prolific offensive performance team-wise for New Orleans, starting quickly en route to a 14-point night. Moore had been quiet earlier in the series, partly because he wasn’t afforded a ton of opportunities at the offensive end, but Saturday he shot 5/10 from the field and was 3/3 at the foul line. Moore also finished with three steals, among just five for the Pelicans, as the Trail Blazers were significantly more careful with the ball after a sloppy Game 3.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“With everything we went through this season – from injuries to trades – I think Anthony said it best when he said they were sleeping on us. I think everybody counted us out. To be here at this point right now, it feels pretty good.” – Holiday on advancing to the second round
“I came here to win a championship. I didn’t come here to beat a team in the first round or the second round." – Rondo, after being asked why he never discussed just making the playoffs when he signed as a free agent last summer
“I feel like the fans needed results. That’s what they’ve gotten. I feel like we come out and play hard every night for them, to try to win games. It’s just a part of all of our legacies here, to be able to do it and continually do it.” – Holiday on the reaction of New Orleans fans during this series and the two home games
“The crowd was amazing. It feels great to be able to go out and sweep these guys, be able to play the way I played, have Jrue play the way he played, and the entire team for the entire series.” – Davis on the experience of Game 4
BY THE NUMBERS
36/54: New Orleans two-point shooting. At halftime, the Pelicans were perfect in 15 attempts from the field, a testament partly to the quality of shots they were getting vs. the Trail Blazers.
44-33: Pelicans rebounding advantage, led by 11 apiece from Davis and Nikola Mirotic.
16: Rondo assists. Holiday added eight dimes, a big chunk of the team’s 28 assists.
131: Franchise record for points scored in a single playoff game by New Orleans.