Pelicans (45-34), Suns (20-60)
PHOENIX – For a second straight game against an opponent well out of contention in the Western Conference, New Orleans wasn’t playing around, building a rapid first-quarter lead Friday and eventually pulling away from Phoenix. The Pelicans led wire-to-wire Wednesday vs. Memphis, and this time only faced a deficit of 2-0 at the outset of Friday’s matchup in Arizona. The visitors broke it open in the fourth quarter, expanding an 86-70 edge to over 20.
New Orleans inched closer to a postseason berth, only needing to get to 47 wins overall to clinch a trip to the playoffs (that required number could shrink to 46 soon, depending on the results of a few other games around the West). The Pelicans also moved into fifth place in the conference, sharing exactly the same 45-34 record with San Antonio and Oklahoma City, but owning the tiebreaking advantage on both of those teams. That trio faces the top three teams in the West standings Saturday, with OKC at No. 1 Houston; NOLA at No. 2 Golden State; and San Antonio hosting No. 3 Portland.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Jrue Holiday deftly pilfered the ball from Phoenix rookie Josh Jackson on a fast break, leading to E’Twaun Moore dropping in a fast-break floater at the other end, giving New Orleans a 102-83 lead with five-plus minutes remaining. The Pelicans led by as many as 27 points en route to a one-sided victory.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
This no-beard thing seems to be working out very well for Nikola Mirotic. For a second consecutive game since he went the clean-shaven route, the forward turned in a tremendous performance, this time scoring 31 points, his most since joining New Orleans via trade in February. He also grabbed 16 rebounds, which tied his most productive game on the backboards with the Pelicans. Besides the lack of facial hard, Mirotic’s uptick in play has coincided with Alvin Gentry’s decision to move him into the starting lineup, which slides Anthony Davis over to center. Davis put up similar numbers Friday (33 points, 11 rebounds), while Holiday was an all-around force (22 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, two blocks, sticky on-ball and help defense).
QUOTES TO NOTE
“As a team, we knew the importance of this game. Right from the beginning, we set a tone and played great defense.” – Mirotic on the Pelicans starting fast in a first quarter they won 39-21
“I feel lighter, I feel quicker.” – Mirotic joking about the impact of losing his beard
“It’s fun. This has been fun for all of us. We’re just embracing this moment, embracing this challenge. We’ll try to get another one tomorrow at Golden State.” – Davis on postgame radio, discussing his perspective on New Orleans being in a to-the-wire playoff race for the second time in four seasons
“I think we’ve had better ball movement. Usually when we do that, we find open players, because we’re a very unselfish team. He’s been able to have spacing and has shot the ball well.” – Gentry on Mirotic shooting well this week, including canning five three-pointers at Phoenix
BY THE NUMBERS
16/38: New Orleans three-point shooting, led by Mirotic’s five makes and four apiece from Holiday and Jordan Crawford, the latter in his return to the Pelicans. Crawford had been out of the NBA since October, when New Orleans released him as part of a roster crunch.
30: Pelicans assists, topped by Holiday’s 10 and five from Rajon Rondo.
13: New Orleans offensive rebounds, an excellent number. Its season high in that category is 18, set Feb. 3 at Minnesota.