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‘Duke connection’ makes big impact in home rout over Grizzlies

The New Orleans locker room has been overflowing with University of Kentucky products in recent years, including current frontcourt players Anthony Davis, Julius Randle and Darius Miller. At one point last season, there were a whopping five former Wildcats on the roster, making UK hoops the dominant topic of discussion during March Madness. Very quietly this season, however, another well-known school is gradually starting to make an impact on the Pelicans’ fortunes.

There’s been no confirmation yet that Frank Jackson and Jahlil Okafor have developed a secret Duke handshake, but during Monday’s 114-95 rout over Memphis, the former Blue Devils seemed to be able to anticipate each other’s movements on the court. During the best game of Jackson’s rookie NBA season, he tallied a career-high 17 points and drained three three-pointers, but also dished a behind-the-back assist to Okafor (nine points, seven rebounds) for a basket in the paint.

“It’s a Duke connection right there,” Jackson said of the play, smiling. “I always find my boy on the court. It’s been really cool to play with him. And we’ve become really good friends off the court. It’s a Duke thing – you could say that.”

Early in the season, the Duke duo frequently picked up DNPs, but both players have carved out bigger roles in recent weeks. Okafor played 10-plus minutes only three times in New Orleans’ first 31 games, but has done so in seven of the last 10, capped by a season-high 24 minutes vs. the Grizzlies. Meanwhile, Jackson had a G League stint and appeared in just 17 of the first 31 Pelicans games, but has only received one DNP in the last 10.

“Those two guys have been very patient and professionals, coming in every day putting in work,” Davis said after his own 36-point, 13-rebound, three-block game vs. Memphis. “Most nights they’re not sure if they’re going to play or not. But when they do, they contribute a lot at both ends of the floor. It’s a testament to their hard work. They come in every day, work on their craft, so when they come in (the game) and do what they do, it’s no surprise to us, because we see it every day.”

“If the opportunity comes, we’ll be ready like we were tonight,” the 23-year-old Okafor said. “We do everything in practice and on our days off to make sure we’re ready to produce if our number’s called.”

Only 20, Jackson impressed teammates during the offseason with his athleticism and potential at the offensive end. After missing all of 2017-18 due to foot surgery, he’s gone through the normal education of virtually every first-year NBA player, but seems to be gaining confidence, a good sign for a New Orleans bench that ranks No. 29 in scoring (in fairness, Pelicans reserves are also 28th in minutes played).

“As a rookie, he’s going to have ups and downs,” Pelicans fourth-year head coach Alvin Gentry said of Jackson. “We can live with some of the mistakes he makes. When he’s doing it aggressively and makes mistakes, you can understand that. All of the rookies I’ve ever known in this league have gone through that, unless your name is LeBron James. But even Kobe (Bryant) went through this as a rookie. It’s a learning process, and we’ve got to give him the opportunity to try to play through some of these things. As long as he’s not duplicating the mistakes, that’s saying that he’s making progress.”

In posting consecutive victories for the first time since mid-November, New Orleans’ second unit averaged 39.0 points against Cleveland and Memphis. As the Pelicans (19-22) try to gain ground on several teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings, they’ll likely need similar production, which also helps keep Davis (second in NBA in average minutes at 37.0) and Jrue Holiday (fourth at 36.5) fresher late in games. New Orleans is also anticipating the imminent return to game action of Nikola Mirotic (ankle), who will immediately increase the squad’s depth.

“Jahlil and Frank came in, the Duke contingent, and did a real good job for us,” Gentry said of the Blue Devils combining for 26 points and a plus-minus of 19 against the Grizzlies. “When we get that kind of play from the bench, we’re pretty good. Hopefully we’ll get Niko back next week, and we’ll have our real team for the first time (since October).”