Spurs (41-8), Pelicans (18-30)
SAN ANTONIO – As has been the case in every meeting over the past two seasons, New Orleans gave San Antonio fits Wednesday, this time refusing to give in after trailing by 15 points early in the third quarter. The Pelicans made the Spurs work for most of what they got at the AT&T Center, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. San Antonio finally pulled away in the latter portion of the fourth quarter, posting its 36th straight home victory. The Spurs have not lost a regular season game in their building since March of last season. New Orleans is still 4-2 vs. San Antonio since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, including a 14-point home win Nov. 20. The Spurs appeared on the brink of another blowout home win when they took a 62-47 edge early in the second half, but the Pelicans responded to make it a tight game. San Antonio needed 8/10 three-point shooting to grab a four-point lead entering the last 12 minutes. New Orleans returned home and will host the Lakers on Thursday, in an 8:30 game televised nationally by TNT.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
San Antonio All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge sank two free throws with 3:18 remaining, giving the Spurs a 104-91 lead. New Orleans trailed just 83-79 through three quarters, but San Antonio held the visiting offense in check for much of the final period. The Spurs are 27-0 at home this season, joining Golden State as a perfect team in its venue.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Anthony Davis threatened to compile the extreme NBA statistical rarity of a 5x5 game, putting on an all-around display that featured 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals. Davis’ 16 first-half points were a big reason the Pelicans were in it at intermission, trailing 53-45. The three-time All-Star used an array of jumpers and mid-post moves to score often against the NBA’s No. 1 defense.
According to the Twitter account @StatMuse, Davis became the first player in the last 20 years to register more than one game of 25-10-4-4-4.
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
Jrue Holiday bounced back from an aberration 1/14 shooting game vs. Memphis two days earlier, returning to the form that has made the guard one of the NBA’s best reserves since early December. Holiday joined Davis in double-figure scoring by halftime, combining to tally 30 of New Orleans’ 45 points. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, aside from that duo, few players consistently made shots. Holiday totaled 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“A lot of our turnovers were unforced, and I thought they were careless turnovers. Any time you turn the ball over against these guys, you get yourself in trouble. That’s exactly what happened.” – Alvin Gentry on the Pelicans committing 19 turnovers, far above their season average of 13.0 per game
“Not much more you can ask for on the road, going into the fourth (quarter) down by four, trying to come up with a W.” – Davis on being in position to win entering the final 12 minutes
“I thought we did a lot of things right, but there were some things we needed to cut back on; one of them was turnovers. We had 19, which you can’t have. That’s not really us – for the last month or so, we’ve cut that down to seven or eight (in many games).” – Holiday on what hurt the Pelicans the most Wednesday
BY THE NUMBERS
18: More points San Antonio tallied on three-pointers than New Orleans. The Spurs were an outstanding 9/15 (60 percent) beyond the arc, while the Pelicans were only 3/19 (16 percent).
45-36: New Orleans rebounding advantage, perhaps its best category. Omer Asik grabbed 11 boards in only 20 minutes, while Davis and Ryan Anderson each had 10.