With Brandon Ingram finding holes in Phoenix’s elite defense, Jose Alvarado finding ways to bother the Suns’ elite point guard in the backcourt and Herbert Jones swatting everything that showed up on his defensive radar, eighth-seeded New Orleans stood toe-to-toe against the Western Conference’s top seed Sunday for three quarters, then put them away in the fourth.
The Pelicans evened their series against the Suns, powered by a third straight game of 30-plus points by Ingram. Alvarado was a menace on defense in the backcourt, while Jones managed to block three three-point shots by Phoenix. Alvarado forced future Hall of Famer Chris Paul into an eight-second violation, and later stole the ball from behind in what's become a common tactic by him, to the utter delight of a sellout home crowd.
New Orleans trailed 51-49 at intermission, but outscored Phoenix 35-23 in the third quarter, then stretched the lead to as many as 18 points in the final stanza.
“They’re a tough team,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said of the Suns, whom he coached as an assistant the previous two seasons under Monty Williams. “They make you bring it. We’re proud of our guys, the effort, the energy. We competed at a high level for 48 minutes.”
"We just wanted to be more aggressive, continue to play our style of basketball," Jones said on postgame radio of the Pelicans taking the game to the Suns, after sometimes being a step behind in Friday's Game 3. "Get back to how we play defensively and offensively."
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Alvarado capped a big surge by New Orleans by driving to the basket and getting fouled, sinking two free throws for a 101-85 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Moments earlier, the Smoothie King Center crowd chanted and sang “Jose!” in honor the catalytic reserve point guard. CJ McCollum added another crowd-pleasing score with a three-pointer to make it 107-90 with three-plus minutes to go.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ingram has been a force to be reckoned with all series, but Game 4's third quarter may have been his best period so far, as he piled up 16 points. The forward was vexing for Phoenix in the first three quarters, tallying all of his 30 points. He finished 11/23 from the field and 7/10 from the foul line.
“Brandon is playing some of his best basketball of the season,” Green said. “And he’s doing it on the biggest stage. It’s great to see. He’s more than capable. He’s the real deal. He puts the work in in practice and we’re seeing it on display.”
BY THE NUMBERS
11: Years since the Pelicans played a Game 6 in any playoff series. By winning Sunday, they guaranteed they’ll be in one Thursday in the Smoothie King Center vs. Phoenix. But first, New Orleans will try to notch a second victory on the Suns' home floor Tuesday in Game 5.
48-39: New Orleans rebounding edge. The Pelicans have won the board battle in all four games of the series.
7/27, 6/24: Phoenix three-point shooting, followed by New Orleans three-point shooting. The category was basically a wash, which qualifies as a win for the Pelicans.
REVISITING FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
HALFCOURT DEFENSE
Significantly better for New Orleans, which did not allow Paul to take over at all, unlike the fourth quarter of Game 3. Paul finished 2/8 from the field and scored four points.
TURNOVER MARGIN
Not only did New Orleans fare much better in the turnover department, but the Pelicans won it Sunday, forcing 13 and only committing nine.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
An emphasis on getting Jonas Valanciunas more involved in the offense yielded early dividends, with the center scoring 11 first-half points on 5/7 shooting. He was even bigger in the second half, finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Valanciunas was 9/15 from the field.