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The Best of Pelicans' Players Social Media June 27- July 4

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The Best of Pelicans' Players Social Media June 14-20

Pelicans.com

Pelicans.com continues its look back at the 2015-16 season with player-by-player analysis of the team:

2015-16 OVERVIEW
Over the final two months of the 2014-15 regular season, Norris Cole injected New Orleans’ postseason hopes with a big boost, as the Pelicans went 18-10 after Cole’s trade addition and earned a coveted West playoff berth. In 2015-16, Cole again got a late start with New Orleans – joining his teammates after being sidelined for 17 games with an ankle injury – but this time the hole was far too deep for the Pelicans to overcome. Over a 45-game stretch, the point guard appeared in every game and New Orleans went a semi-respectable 20-25, but the team was just 4-13 prior to Cole’s Dec. 1 season debut. Health again interrupted Cole’s season in March, causing him to miss each of the final 20 games due to a lower back injury.

Cole started slowly in December but eventually turned in some of the top statistical games of his NBA career, particularly when he was pressed into a starting role for 21 straight games beginning Jan. 21. Overall though, his effectiveness did not approach the levels of his debut campaign with the Pelicans, when he arrived at the trade deadline and played some of his best basketball as a pro. Cole’s field-goal percentage dropped to 40.5 after it had been 44.4 during the 28 games he played in ’14-15. His three-point percentage was 32.4 (almost exactly the same as his career rate of 32.6), also a dip from connecting on 37.8 percent the previous season. He began his NBA career with two straight championships and three consecutive NBA Finals appearances as a Miami reserve catalyst, but missed the postseason for the first time this spring.

Cole was re-signed as a restricted free agent late in the ’15 offseason, but will officially become an unrestricted free agent this summer on July 1, able to sign with any NBA team.

#3, Jan. 2: New Orleans 105, Dallas 98
A last-minute addition to the starting five after Tyreke Evans (knee) was a late scratch, Cole had a tremendous all-around game, as the Pelicans posted a stellar road win. Cole notched the second points/rebounds double-double of his NBA career, with 16 points and a career-best 12 boards. He also had four assists and four steals.

#2, March 7: New Orleans 115, Sacramento 112
As it turned out, this was Cole’s final appearance of the season, but he made it count. In a come-from-behind victory over the Kings, he finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. New Orleans trailed 63-50 at the half but won the second half 65-49.

#1, Jan. 28: New Orleans 114, Sacramento 105
Cole helped lead fast-starting New Orleans, which rolled to a 37-19 edge after a quarter. He wound up with 10 assists, the only double-digit assist performance of his NBA career. He also scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both top-15 games for Cole as a pro.

10.6: Cole’s scoring average in 2015-16, the first time he’s averaged double figures in the NBA. He also played a career-high 26.6 minutes a game.

80.0: Career high in percentage from the foul line. He averaged 2.0 free-throw attempts per 36 minutes, the most for him since 2.4 as a Miami rookie in 2011-12.

302: Games played (out of a possible 312) by Cole over the first four seasons of his NBA career, or 96.8 percent. His ’15-16 season was a major outlier compared to his track record of rarely missing games due to injury.

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Season in Review 2015-16: Norris Cole

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Gallery: Norris Cole Season in Review 2015-16

NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Pelicans announced today medical updates for forward Ryan Anderson, guard Norris Cole, forward Alonzo Gee and guard Jrue Holiday.

Anderson (6-10, 240) has been diagnosed with a sports hernia. He will seek a second opinion from a specialist in Philadelphia later this week. Additional details will be announced appropriately following further evaluation. Anderson has appeared in 66 games (seven starts), holding averages of 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest.

Cole (6-2, 175) is experiencing lower back discomfort and is listed as day-to-day. The Cleveland State product has appeared in 45 games (23 starts), averaging 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Gee (6-6, 225) suffered a complete rupture of the right proximal rectus femoris and will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season. The injury occurred during the second quarter of last night’s game against the New York Knicks. Gee holds season averages of 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 0.9 steals in 73 contests (38 starts).

Holiday (6-4, 205) has been diagnosed with a right inferior orbital wall fracture. He will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season. The injury occurred with 56.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of last night’s game against the New York Knicks. The UCLA product has appeared in 65 games (23 starts) while averaging 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.4 steals.

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Pelicans Announce Medical Updates

Jim Eichenhofer

Trailing by as many as 17 points at one stage of the second half and still down double digits in the fourth period, New Orleans rallied for one of its best comeback wins of 2015-16 in a Western Conference matchup. The Pelicans outscored the Kings 32-23 in the fourth quarter to erase what had been a six-point deficit through three periods, led by Jrue Holiday’s nine points in the stanza. Holiday made big plays at both ends during the final minute, sinking a 19-foot jumper to put the hosts up by three, then coming up with a steal on Sacramento’s final possession. Dante Cunningham also converted a momentous basket, hitting a corner three-pointer that put New Orleans up 111-110 with 35 seconds to go. Cunningham had made just two three-pointers in his career prior to this season, but has connected on 40 of them in 2015-16. The Pelicans improved to 3-0 head-to-head against the Kings this season, with one more meeting remaining next week in California’s capital city.

Jrue Holiday aggressively defended against Kings point guard Darren Collison as Collison tried to advance the ball into the frontcourt in the final seconds, poking the ball away and coming up with a game-clinching steal. Holiday then dribbled out the last few seconds to wrap up the three-point victory.

For a second straight game, Anthony Davis started slowly but ignited in the second half. Davis only had eight points at halftime Monday, but finished with 31 after a 23-point latter half. The three-time All-Star power forward finished 13-for-21 from the field and had 10 rebounds to go with three steals and one block. Davis and three other starters were pulled from the game not long into the first quarter after Sacramento played with much more energy, but enjoyed a turnaround later in the night.

Alonzo Gee registered nine points and seven rebounds in only 20 minutes of action, while providing a much-needed boost of energy off the bench. As is usually the case, Gee did most of his offensive damage around the rim, deposing three layups and one dunk to account for his 4/6 shooting from the field.

“On the steal, I was actually going for the foul. Coach (Alvin Gentry) was telling us to foul. I don’t know if the ball was just placed in the right place, but obviously when you go for the foul, you try to go for the steal too. I got a lot of ball.” – Holiday on swiping the ball from Collison to ice the win

“We’re going to keep playing, no matter what the score is or what the situation is, playoffs or no playoffs. We’re going to keep playing. When you do that, good things tend to happen. That’s what happened tonight.” – Davis on continue to give effort amid New Orleans having a slim chance at the postseason

“He gave us great minutes. He’s a big body, good defender, smart on the court. It makes it easy on everybody else with how vocal he is. It makes it easier for us to react, without having to look over our shoulder the whole time.” – Cunningham on Kendrick Perkins’ contributions, partly in defending Sacramento star DeMarcus Cousins

2: New Orleans turnovers in the second half, after coughing up 15 prior to intermission.

7: Steals in the fourth quarter by the Pelicans, including one by six different players.

7/25: The exact same three-point accuracy (28 percent) both teams shot Monday. Foul shooting damaged New Orleans’ chances to win (18/26), but the hosts were able to overcome it.

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Postgame: Pelicans 115, Kings 112

On his thoughts after the game:
“We didn’t execute down the stretch. It’s as simple as that. You have a six point lead and you turn the ball over three straight times, and you’re not supposed to win. That’s just the bottom line. We come out here after every game and we talk about ‘We’re still in the playoffs.’ No, we’re not. We’re not. What we are, is a team that when we have an opportunity to do something, we didn’t get it done. That is the bottom line. We’re up six points and we turn the ball over three straight times. You can’t do that and win on the road. It’s that simple.”

On what happened down the stretch:
“We turned the ball over and didn’t give ourselves a chance to get back on defense and get some stops. You can’t have turnovers like that, and we have to give our defense a chance to get set. Houston made more plays down the stretch than we did."

On what happened down the stretch:
“We turned the ball over. Houston capitalized on their fast break points. Houston capitalized on our mistakes down the stretch."

On what happened down the stretch:
"They’re a tough team when they get going, and they are penetrating to the basket. They didn’t hit their threes, but we just needed to get back in transition, and we turned the ball over a lot that gave them points in the paint."

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Pelicans-Rockets Postgame: Locker Room Quotes 3-2-16

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Pelicans-Rockets Postgame: Norris Cole 3-2-16

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