Pelicans (21-20), Trail Blazers (22-20)
New Orleans has relied heavily on three-point shooting in recent weeks, but on Friday the Pelicans took their game inside. That proved to be a very good thing.
While Portland continually launched from the perimeter – mostly unsuccessfully – the hosts made a concerted effort to drive to the rim, resulting in a 62-54 edge in points in the paint and plenty of easy baskets. New Orleans eventually took control in the late stages of the fourth quarter, picking up a key victory over Portland. The Pelicans moved to within just a half-game of the Trail Blazers in the very tight Western Conference standings. The teams entered Friday in fifth and eighth place, respectively.
Portland guard Damian Lillard struggled to a 2/11 night on threes, making him just 7/30 in three head-to-head games against the Pelicans this season. The Trail Blazers shot 12/42 on treys and missed several in key spots while trying to overcome a manageable late deficit.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Anthony Davis got the friendly roll on a half-hook near the lane, giving New Orleans a 113-105 edge with a minute-plus remaining. The Trail Blazers came up empty on their next possession, keeping it an eight-point margin with under 45 seconds left.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Two days after he sat out a game in Memphis due to a right ankle sprain, Davis piled up 36 points and looked spry, rising over Portland’s defense for many of his buckets during a 16/23 shooting night. Meanwhile, tag-team All-Star partner DeMarcus Cousins turned in what Alvin Gentry described as one of Cousins’ best all-around performances of 2017-18, racking up numbers of 24 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists. Combined with third scorer Jrue Holiday (25 points on 8/11 shooting), the trio went for 85 points on 33/55 shooting from the field. Cousins also pulled down 19 rebounds; Davis posted a key five offensive boards.
“When we’re all clicking and all grooving, we’re a pretty good team.” – Holiday on the Pelicans when their top trio plays well at the same time
QUOTES TO NOTE
“We know that they don’t really have great rim protection. And they started three small guys. We just wanted to go out there and attack. If the threes open up, they open up, but we wanted to get to the cup early.” – Davis on NOLA’s emphasis on getting into the paint instead of relying more on outside shots
“I think we took the opportunities we had. For (Portland), trailing us off screens and running us off the (three-point) line, with their bigs being up to try to get to DeMarcus and Anthony, it gave us lanes to get to the basket. So why not take those opportunities?” – Holiday on NOLA’s style of play on offense, based on how Portland defended
“When we’re missing any of our key guys, we’re not the team we can be. His presence was felt throughout the whole entire game. His play speaks for itself.” – Cousins on the impact of Davis being back in the lineup
BY THE NUMBERS
19: New Orleans three-point attempts, its second-fewest of the entire season and least since shooting 16 vs. the Clippers on Nov. 11.
14: Portland offensive rebounds, led by three apiece from Al-Farouq Aminu and guard Shabazz Napier, who snared a couple long rebounds. That helped keep the Blazers close, though they trailed by 16 at one stage.
6/21: Combined three-point shooting by Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who’ve done major damage against New Orleans in previous seasons but have struggled in 2017-18. The Pelicans lead the season series 2-1, with one remaining March matchup.