PORTLAND – New Orleans’ perimeter defense has been trending upward lately in stopping dribble penetration and forcing opponents into more difficult three-point attempts. The latter proved to be the case to an extreme degree Monday – Portland turned in by far its worst outside shooting game of the regular season, a decisive factor in an upset win by the Pelicans. Trail Blazers guards and perennial team leading scorers Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined to shoot 2/20 on three-pointers, part of the hosts’ 4/29 outing from distance. Conversely, New Orleans was 15/35 on treys and had four players make at least two trifectas.
“Our communication has gotten a lot better,” Derrick Favors said of the Pelicans’ recently-improved defense. “Just paying attention to the game plan and guys playing hard and guarding their man, making sure they contest every shot, making sure they fight over every screen. The guards and bigs are communicating on the perimeter. We’re just (accepting the challenge) and guarding our man one-on-one.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
With New Orleans leading 101-92, both teams went scoreless for an extended stretch around the 2:00 mark, giving Portland too little time to try to erase its deficit. Lillard scored on a driving layup, but by the 0:30 mark, it was still 101-94 in favor of the visitors.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
In an excellent illustration of New Orleans’ overall performance, there were numerous candidates for this distinction, including rookie Jaxson Hayes, veterans Favors and E’Twaun Moore, along with second-year hustle guy Kenrich Williams.
“I thought everybody that went out there contributed in some way,” said Alvin Gentry, who used 12 different players by halftime. “That’s who we want to be, (a team where) anybody can step in and do something positive. As long as that’s the case, we’ll have the opportunity to play a deeper rotation.”
Favors finished with a double-double at 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Hayes made the center position an even bigger plus for the Pelicans on Monday by blocking four shots and posting a plus-minus of 11 in only 17 minutes of action. Moore tallied 13 points and made key buckets in the fourth period, while Williams was a plus-12 in 19 minutes, scrapping for loose balls and offensive rebounds, as well as contributing two key hoops.
BY THE NUMBERS
13.8: Portland three-point percentage, easily surpassing New Orleans’ best defensive performance in that category. The previous best – probably not coincidentally - occurred in Wednesday’s win at Minnesota, when the Timberwolves shot 25.6 percent from deep.
3-0: New Orleans record this season when its opponent shoots 28.0 percent or worse from three-point range. When the Pelicans shoot 28.0 percent or worse, they are 0-6.
25.0: Worst three-point percentage by Portland in a game during the 2019-20 season prior to Monday’s forgettable outing. The Trail Blazers were 7/28 in their season opener vs. Denver way back on Oct. 23.
55-48: New Orleans rebounding edge, led by 13 from Favors and 11 by Brandon Ingram. Guards Ball and Jrue Holiday combined for 13, including four offensive boards.
#WEEKLYREVIEW
For the eighth time in nine weeks of this regular season, Brandon Ingram earned the most votes from fans in a Player of the Week poll, this time garnering roughly 70 percent of ballots. In three games last week, the forward averaged 27.0 points and 4.0 assists per game. He was instrumental in New Orleans’ lone Week 9 win, by depositing 34 points at Minnesota.