postgame recap

Jim Eichenhofer

OAKLAND – Two-time league MVP Stephen Curry had the ball knocked away from him Tuesday by a New Orleans defender Curry didn’t see coming, but the ball bounced around and ended up in the hands of one-time NBA MVP Kevin Durant, who fired a deep three-pointer. Swish. It was the kind of play that summed up Golden State’s second-round series victory over New Orleans: Even when the Pelicans did something right, it wasn’t always enough against the ultra-talented Warriors, one of this era’s most powerful teams.

Sixth-seeded New Orleans played No. 2 Golden State competitively for a half in Game 5, trailing by just three points at intermission, but the Warriors proved too much in the third quarter, clamping down on the Pelicans and taking advantage of an extended scoring drought. The hosts rapidly turned that three-point halftime edge into a 26-point margin. New Orleans made the Oracle Arena crowd a bit nervous in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but a rally came too late.

Golden State advanced to the Western Conference finals for a fourth consecutive year, setting up a matchup with top-seeded Houston. New Orleans wrapped up its best season in a decade, reaching the second round for the first time since ’08.

Draymond Green sank a tough turnaround jumper to beat then shot clock, then Kevon Looney tipped in a miss to put Golden State in front by 11 with about 1:20 remaining. New Orleans put together a huge surge to cut its deficit to seven at one stage, but couldn’t come up with vital stops with under two minutes left.

Jrue Holiday kept coming at the Warriors in the fourth quarter, even when things began to look very bleak for the visitors. Holiday’s triple-double consisted of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. With the Warriors devoting considerable attention and physicality to trying to stop Anthony Davis (34 points, 19 rebounds, 13/26 shooting), Holiday sliced through the middle of Golden State’s defense for layups and close-range shots. He finished 11/21 from the field.

Ian Clark logged 30 minutes off the bench and scored nine points. Aside from E’Twaun Moore, he was the only Pelicans player to finish in the positive side of the plus-minus ledger, at 5.

“We take a lot of positive things from this season. Of course, one of our main guys went out (DeMarcus Cousins), and everybody doubted us, everybody counted us out. We were able to keep fighting, keep pushing as a unit, and come this far.” – Davis on 2017-18 and the Pelicans winning a playoff series for the first time since ‘08

“We’ve been a team that’s suffered a lot of adversity. We always seemed to play ourselves out of it. We had to reinvent ourselves twice.” – Alvin Gentry on 2017-18, adjusting the style of play to incorporate Cousins, then doing it again when Cousins had a season-ending injury

“We feel like we’re headed in the right direction as a franchise. We have one of the three or four best players in the league, which is great to build on. Jrue Holiday had a great year, (Rajon) Rondo was a terrific addition to our team, from the standpoint of leadership and what he’s done (on the floor).” – Gentry summing up the season

"His groin was not in great shape and we knew that right from the start. His movement wasn't as it had been, and I just didn't think that it was worth risking something that could be serious. He wanted to play, and he tried to play right from the start, and that's why I love the guy, he is as big a competitor as I've been around, and he would do anything to help our team. I just thought that it didn't make sense to put him out there, because his movement wasn't great, and I didn't want to see him hurt." - Gentry on why Rajon Rondo only played 21 minutes

24: Golden State points off 14 New Orleans turnovers, an area that made it very difficult for the Pelicans to have a chance to win.

31/64: Pelicans two-point shooting, while the Warriors were 41/73. New Orleans had been better than Golden State closer to the basket in the series, but not in Game 5.

10/24: New Orleans three-point shooting. Golden State struggled, especially by its league-leading standards, going 7/27.

game-5-postgame-recap-warriors-113-pelicans-104

Game 5 postgame recap: Warriors 113, Pelicans 104

Everything that went right for New Orleans in Game 3 went the opposite direction two days later, resulting in a one-sided Golden State victory Sunday. On Friday, the Pelicans shot well, received significant contributions from their reserves and forced the Warriors’ offense into many uncomfortable situations. This time, New Orleans struggled to hit even open shots, couldn’t get its bench going and couldn’t stop Kevin Durant from a monster 38-point performance.

The Warriors set the tone rapidly by taking a 14-point lead in the first quarter and were never seriously threatened, though the Pelicans cut their deficit to seven by halftime. Golden State seized command in the third period with a 33-19 edge, going up by 21.

New Orleans turned in a 4/26 performance from three-point range, its worst of the entire campaign, including regular season and playoffs. The Pelicans will try to stave off elimination Tuesday, when they play Game 5 on Golden State’s home floor.

Stephen Curry breezed in for a lefty fast-break layup, giving the Warriors their biggest lead at 100-75 with seven-plus minutes remaining. New Orleans gave its starters a chance to get the home team back in the hunt, but eventually subbed them out a few minutes later.

E’Twaun Moore was the rare New Orleans player to turn in an efficient offensive performance, going 7/12 from the field in 34 minutes. He was one reason the Pelicans stayed competitive in the first half, dropping in 11 of his points. Moore finished with 20 points, second on New Orleans behind Anthony Davis’ 26 points, but Davis shot 8/22 from the floor.

“No, no. We’ve got to win one game at Oracle and that’s the one that we play next. That’s as far as we need to look. Obviously it’s a monumental task. It’s been done before. As I said to the guys, we’ve just got to go play and you’re not out until they win four games.” – Alvin Gentry quickly responding to a question about the daunting task of needing to win twice at Golden State in order to win the series

“It’s another game where we get to play. I’m blessed to go out there and play again. Still in it. We’re a team that fights through everything. We’ve gone through so much this year. We’ve never given up and we don’t plan on it now.” – Jrue Holiday (19 points) on his perspective on Game 5

“They came out on fire, and throughout the entire game, the shots they missed in Game 3, they made tonight.” – Davis referencing the major shift for Golden State in the two games played in the Smoothie King Center

36.4: New Orleans shooting percentage from the field, the second-worst outing of the entire season. The only poorer game was a 34.7 rate Feb. 9 at Philadelphia.

19: New Orleans turnovers. Combined with the poor shooting, the Pelicans gave themselves little chance of keeping up with the Warriors on the scoreboard.

38: Pelicans second-half points. As Gentry noted after the game, New Orleans didn’t approach the level it needed to have a chance vs. Golden State.

game-4-postgame-recap-warriors-118-pelicans-92

Game 4 postgame recap: Warriors 118, Pelicans 92

Golden State dominated its first home game in this second-round series. On Friday, New Orleans returned the favor.

Playing in front of an intense, raucous sellout crowd in the Smoothie King Center, the Pelicans built a big first-half lead, then stretched it out again after intermission, going up by as many as 26 points over the Warriors. New Orleans broke through for its first win of the series in resounding fashion.

The duo of Anthony Davis (33 points, 18 rebounds) and Jrue Holiday (21 points) led the offense, while fellow starters Rajon Rondo (franchise playoff record 21 assists) and Nikola Mirotic (16 points, 13 rebounds) delivered playmaking, additional scoring and board work. Off the bench, Ian Clark played perhaps his best game of 2017-18, red-hot from the perimeter en route to an 18-point night.

Game 4 will be a rare ABC Sunday afternoon game for New Orleans, with tip-off at 2:30 p.m. Central. Game 5 is now necessary and will take place Tuesday at Golden State.

New Orleans kept extending the lead in the fourth quarter, going up by 25 points with 4:59 left on an E’Twaun Moore uncontested breakaway dunk. Draymond Green showed some frustration on the play by not moving after the ball was knocked away from him, then got into another jawing match with Rondo. After a timeout, Steve Kerr threw in the towel by subbing in previous DNPs such as Zaza Pachulia and Jordan Bell.

Davis had a so-so first half, especially by his lofty standards, but then took over the second half. Davis was just 5/14 shooting before halftime, then went 10/13 after the break to finish 15/27 from the field. The Warriors had no answer for the five-time All-Star, who collected 11 of his rebounds during a second half won by New Orleans 57-44. It wasn’t even that close.

Solomon Hill had struggled offensively in the first two games, but broke out during a first-half three-point shooting barrage. Hill sank three consecutive attempts from beyond the arc, helping to stake New Orleans to 30-21 lead through one quarter. Golden State dared the forward to shoot, which turned out to be costly. Hill finished the game with those nine points, but the offense he provided was an early game-changer.

“You really think I’m going to tell you that?” – Alvin Gentry, responding to a media member’s question about how New Orleans was able to limit Golden State offensively (38 percent shooting, 29 percent on three-pointers)

“It was perfect. A Friday night, weekend game, second round of the playoffs, playing the champs, you couldn’t ask for nothing greater from our fans, giving us that edge. And I think we performed well.” – Clark summing up the game for the Pelicans and their home fans

“Defensive urgency. In Game 1 and 2, we let their shooters get free and they were comfortable shooting. Tonight we contested every shot they had, coming off screens and pick-and-rolls.” – Clark on a major improvement for New Orleans at the defensive end in Game 3

“You’ve just got to stay with it. First two games, they were giving me that shot, and I’ve got to take them. I work too hard to pass up shots like that. I just have to be aggressive.” – Hill on stepping up and making three straight three-pointers to help the Pelicans expand their early lead

“It’s kind of just how I am. It’s kind of natural for me to respond. Let them know we’re not a pushover. We’re here to fight. I’m going to fight as hard as I can for these guys, whatever it takes.” – Rondo on why he’s decided to stand up to Draymond Green’s persistent trash-talking to Pelicans players

14/31: New Orleans three-point shooting as a team, after it shot just 34 percent in the first two games on the road. Holiday, Mirotic, Clark and Hill sank three apiece.

54-36: Pelicans edge in points in the paint. Combined with shooting better than the Warriors from long distance, it was a one-sided victory for the hosts.

36: New Orleans assists, topped by Rondo’s 21 dimes. It was the Pelicans’ fourth-best tally of the entire season.

26-12: Golden State advantage in free throw attempts, raising its edge in the series to 85-32.

game-3-postgame-recap-pelicans-119-warriors-100

Game 3 postgame recap: Pelicans 119, Warriors 100

OAKLAND – A common refrain in the Bay Area and beyond after Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinal series was that Stephen Curry’s imminent return to action would spell big trouble for New Orleans in Game 2. As it turned out, the Warriors had to sweat out Tuesday’s game until the final few minutes, even with the two-time MVP playing like his old self. Curry piled up 28 points in only 27 minutes, but Golden State couldn’t shake New Orleans, which kept fighting back and staying within striking distance.

Ultimately, the Warriors had enough to hold off the Pelicans, stretching their lead up to double digits in the fourth quarter, after it was just 88-86 through three periods. The teams will travel to Louisiana and play Game 3 on Friday in the Smoothie King Center.

Kevin Durant kept making tough shots over defenders, then set up Curry for a three-pointer from the right wing for a 119-106 lead with 1:47 left. New Orleans managed to get the game back to within a couple possessions in the final minutes, but it was too little, too late.

Rajon Rondo finished with 22 points – knocking down three three-pointers – along with 12 assists, seven rebounds and five steals. The one blemish was his seven turnovers, but he was all over the floor in sticking his nose into battles for the ball or on defense. Rondo shot 8/15 from the floor, connecting a few times while left wide open for jumpers.

Prior to fouling out in the fourth quarter, Nikola Mirotic made some momentum-changing baskets for New Orleans. The forward totaled 18 points in 39 minutes, going 3/8 from deep. E’Twaun Moore also supplied some help at the offensive end, scoring 14 points and draining four of eight three-point attempts.

“As I said in the first game, this is not a team that you can turn the ball over against without paying a huge price. I thought we paid a huge price tonight in those particular turnovers right at the crucial time because they went down and they scored on them.” – Alvin Gentry on the Warriors stretching out their lead by capitalizing on Pelicans miscues. Golden State scored 22 points off 14 turnovers

“We learned about ourselves. If we played the way we could have been playing we could have been in the game and won the game, any game in the series. Obviously the second quarter in the first game kind of threw everybody off, but today we showed that we can play both halves with them. It just comes down to the little details.” – Ian Clark on New Orleans playing more competitively

“We played well the whole game but I think we got our rhythm back. We got our groove back. Maybe just a couple things here and there that we need to change but definitely a positive turnout from this game.” – Jrue Holiday on the change in New Orleans’ performance from Game 1 to Game 2

“That’s exactly what I expected. They have a hell of a team and Anthony Davis said after Game 1, they were embarrassed, so we knew they were going to come after us… We played well enough to win, but we’re going to have to play better in New Orleans.” – Golden State’s Steve Kerr on the effort from the Pelicans

0: Total free throws for Holiday and Anthony Davis, despite the pair firing 48 shots from the field and making 23 of those. Via Pelicans TV statistician Tommy Cooper, it was the first time that both players suited up for a game but neither attempted a foul shot, over the course of five years as teammates.

59-20: Edge in free throws taken by Golden State through two games of the series. New Orleans stressed entering Game 2 that it needed to improve upon a wide disparity of tries in Game 1 (Golden State 32-11), but Tuesday brought a very similar gap (Golden State 27-9).

4/20: New Orleans three-point shooting in the first half, preventing the Pelicans from taking a lead into intermission (Golden State was up 58-55, with Klay Thompson unintentionally banking in a trey at the second-quarter buzzer).

26: Plus-minus for Curry. The Pelicans’ best number in this category was only plus-2, shared by Davis and Rondo.

game-2-postgame-recap-warriors-121-pelicans-116

Game 2 postgame recap: Warriors 121, Pelicans 116

Franchise history was made in more ways than one Saturday – New Orleans posted its first-ever sweep of an NBA playoff series, while the team’s all-time single-game scoring record was cleared not by one but two Pelicans. Anthony Davis piled up 47 points and Jrue Holiday poured in 41 points, both surpassing the previous record of 38 points, set by David West during the 2008 postseason. That was also the only other time New Orleans has advanced to the second round in its 16 years of existence.

Despite being on the verge of elimination and facing a deficit no team has ever overcome in NBA history, Portland scratched and clawed Saturday, putting up a much better fight than it did in Thursday’s Game 3. The Trail Blazers made it a tight affair in the fourth quarter and had a chance to break through for an initial win in the series, but Davis and Holiday proved too much down the stretch. New Orleans had gone up by as many as 15 points in the second half, before Portland surged back into the hunt.

New Orleans became the first No. 6 seed to sweep a No. 3 seed in Round 1 since the playoff format changed to a best-of-seven in the conference quarterfinals, back in '03. The Pelicans will now await their next opponent, which coincidentally could feature previous franchise record-holder West. Golden State leads San Antonio 3-0 in the other half of the bracket, with a chance for West and the Warriors to sweep the Spurs on Sunday afternoon.

Replay review proved extremely favorable for New Orleans, with Holiday sticking a jumper after it had been initially ruled that he was out of bounds on a dribble. Holiday’s shot put New Orleans up 129-123 with 40 seconds left. Davis then blocked an Al-Farouq Aminu three-point attempt, all but sealing the outcome.

Davis and Holiday have played many excellent games together over their five seasons as teammates, but Saturday was the crowning achievement, with both topping the 40-point mark, both scoring more points than anyone else during New Orleans’ playoff history, and Holiday producing the best offensive output of his nine-year NBA career (regular season or postseason).

The man who helped bring it all together, Rajon Rondo noted in his postgame media session that he was extremely impressed by the duo’s efficiency, as they combined to shoot 30/47 from the field. Davis went 15/24 from the field, along with 15/17 at the stripe, while Holiday’s numbers were 15/23 and 9/12 in those categories. Portland had no answer for either player throughout the series, something that culminated in a memorable exclamation point in Game 4.

E’Twaun Moore helped set the tone for a prolific offensive performance team-wise for New Orleans, starting quickly en route to a 14-point night. Moore had been quiet earlier in the series, partly because he wasn’t afforded a ton of opportunities at the offensive end, but Saturday he shot 5/10 from the field and was 3/3 at the foul line. Moore also finished with three steals, among just five for the Pelicans, as the Trail Blazers were significantly more careful with the ball after a sloppy Game 3.

“With everything we went through this season – from injuries to trades – I think Anthony said it best when he said they were sleeping on us. I think everybody counted us out. To be here at this point right now, it feels pretty good.” – Holiday on advancing to the second round

“I came here to win a championship. I didn’t come here to beat a team in the first round or the second round." – Rondo, after being asked why he never discussed just making the playoffs when he signed as a free agent last summer

“I feel like the fans needed results. That’s what they’ve gotten. I feel like we come out and play hard every night for them, to try to win games. It’s just a part of all of our legacies here, to be able to do it and continually do it.” – Holiday on the reaction of New Orleans fans during this series and the two home games

“The crowd was amazing. It feels great to be able to go out and sweep these guys, be able to play the way I played, have Jrue play the way he played, and the entire team for the entire series.” – Davis on the experience of Game 4

36/54: New Orleans two-point shooting. At halftime, the Pelicans were perfect in 15 attempts from the field, a testament partly to the quality of shots they were getting vs. the Trail Blazers.

44-33: Pelicans rebounding advantage, led by 11 apiece from Davis and Nikola Mirotic.

16: Rondo assists. Holiday added eight dimes, a big chunk of the team’s 28 assists.

131: Franchise record for points scored in a single playoff game by New Orleans.

game-4-postgame-recap-pelicans-131-trail-blazers-123

Game 4 postgame recap: Pelicans 131, Trail Blazers 123

New Orleans native Mannie Fresh performed at halftime to a raucous reception, but the party Thursday had already started for the Pelicans, who built a huge first-half lead and ran roughshod over the Portland Trail Blazers, taking total command of this first-round series. Anthony Davis was producing his usual blend of did-you-see-that highlights; Rajon Rondo controlled the tempo and the action again; Nikola Mirotic played perhaps the most memorable game of his NBA career; and the New Orleans defense made life miserable for Portland all night, forcing a barrage of turnovers.

The Pelicans took a 3-0 series lead for the first time in team history and will have a chance to cap a sweep Saturday, when they host the Trail Blazers at 4 p.m.

Portland subbed in deep reserves like rookie Caleb Swanigan with seven-plus minutes remaining, trailing 107-79, which was the Pelicans’ biggest lead of the night up to that stage. The advantage eventually ballooned to 33 points. It was nearly a wire-to-wire victory for New Orleans, which went up 36-20 through the first quarter. Portland’s only lead was by two points.

Mirotic’s 30-point eruption was a stunning display of efficiency and confidence, with him dropping in 12 baskets on only 15 attempts (4/6 on threes), while taking some quick-trigger shots. While getting on a serious roll and moving into heat-check mode a few times, the forward gestured in excitement to the crowd, which roared its approval. Mirotic had already been phenomenal during what’s now an eight-game winning streak for New Orleans, but he was the biggest star Thursday in a game where the home team had plenty of them.

Jrue Holiday received ample national attention for his play in the first two games of the series, including an unusually talkative night for him in Game 2. On Thursday, he was just solid all-around, scoring 16 points and helping deny Portland’s frustrated duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who totaled 42 points, but went 5/14 on treys and, most damaging, combined to commit 12 turnovers. McCollum committed two hard fouls that seemed to show he’d lost some composure, while Lillard again could not find any rhythm, shooting 5/14 from the floor. In the series, he’s made only 18 of 55 tries.

“We have a lot of weapons, getting scoring from a lot of positions. We are just trusting each other. No one cares about (who scores).” – Davis on one reason New Orleans is playing so well

“It was just amazing to play at home with all this crowd. They were just great tonight. They really helped us with energy and everything. They deserve this success. Hopefully they’re going to be even better next game, and we’ll be better.” – Mirotic on the experience of playing in front of 18,551 loud fans

“The fans were great. The energy from start to finish was amazing. It was what I expected. It was great to come back and get that type of reception from the fans.” – Rondo on the Smoothie King Center crowd

“Personally, I’m extremely happy for Niko. He’s been my teammate for two years in a row now, and what he’s been through the last two years, this is a testament to what he’s been doing, as far as being in the gym and working. On the brightest stage and the biggest moments, he’s definitely showing up. I couldn’t be happier for a guy on my team.” – Rondo on Mirotic’s 30-point game and stellar play in the postseason

6: Different Pelicans players who made at least one three-pointer, led by Mirotic’s four treys and two apiece by Holiday and Darius Miller.

27: New Orleans assists, paced by 11 from Rondo. The Pelicans had numerous pinpoint passing sequences in which everyone on the floor touched the ball before a basket.

33/102: Portland three-point shooting in the series. New Orleans has made nearly as many threes in far fewer attempts, going 31/75.

game-3-postgame-recap-pelicans-119-trail-blazers-102

Game 3 postgame recap: Pelicans 119, Trail Blazers 102

PORTLAND – Jrue Holiday once again played like the two-way force that New Orleans players and coaches have been talking about for months. Rajon Rondo, in trademark “Playoff Rondo” fashion, sank the back-breaking fourth-quarter hoop, a left-corner three-pointer. Nikola Mirotic scraped the ceiling with jumpers, but when they came back down to Earth, they swished through the net. E’Twaun Moore missed two free throws in a critical spot, but more than made up for it by tracking down the rebound and bleeding valuable seconds off Portland’s home clock.

It took a collective effort Tuesday at the Moda Center, but the Pelicans did what they’ve done so many times in 2017-18, pulling off a road victory amid tight circumstances. The Trail Blazers kept applying pressure by putting together rallies, only to watch New Orleans regain control. Portland outplayed New Orleans in the first half and led 59-54 at the break, but the visitors dominated the third quarter by a 33-19 margin, changing the momentum significantly. The game was tied with three-plus minutes left in the fourth period, but the Pelicans again answered, making nearly all of the big plays in crunch time.

In a season of unprecedented and unexpected feats, New Orleans accomplished something for the first time in franchise history, winning consecutive road playoff games. The Pelicans did so in a very difficult venue, against a very formidable opponent. Both teams will travel to Louisiana on Wednesday, in advance of Game 3 at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday at 8 p.m. Central.

Holiday collected a defensive rebound with 17 seconds left, then went to the foul line at the other end to sink a pair of free throws, making it a nine-point game and sending many Portland fans to the Moda Center exits. On a previous possession, Rondo drained a dagger trey, giving the Pelicans a 108-100 lead with 38 seconds to go. The Pelicans managed to run a big chunk of time off when Moore secured a rebound off his own misfired free throw, then Rondo gathered in a layup miss.

Holiday will be at the center of discussion around the NBA on Wednesday – probably even more so if these New Orleans-Portland games hadn’t both ended around 1 a.m. on the East Coast – after playing one of the best games of his pro career Tuesday. The UCLA product went for 33 points and nine assists, constantly getting into the Portland paint en route to shooting 14/24 from the field. His defensive excellence also factored into the Trail Blazers’ talented guard tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum not having great shooting nights, combining to go just 16/39.

“He’s a very good player – I said that coming into the series,” McCollum noted of Holiday. “He doesn’t get a lot of credit, because he’s playing with (five-time All-Star Anthony Davis). I think you’re starting to see how good he truly is.”

It tells you something about how many positive things are happening around this New Orleans team that a near triple-double qualifies as a relatively unnoticed performance, but Rondo came just shy of that feat against the Trail Blazers. The veteran point guard netted 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, helping to control the game with his steady floor leadership. He had one blemish by turning the ball over six times, but the Pelicans were plus-17 with him on the floor, only minus-eight in the non-Rondo minutes. Moore and reserve forward Darius Miller also came up with some timely jumpers, quieting a high-volume Portland crowd in key spots. They notched eight points each.

By the way, for a second straight spring, Rondo’s NBA team won the first two games of a playoff series on the road. In '17, he spearheaded eighth-seeded Chicago to a pair of victories at Boston's TD Garden.

“He’s been great. All he wants to do is play basketball. Now that everything that was going on with him has been squared away and doing fine, he’s just focused on playing. And he’s playing at a high level.” – Davis on Holiday, who in previous seasons had to handle injuries and a family concern in ’16-17

“When he gets in that zone, he’s pretty much unstoppable. He has such an effect on the game at both ends. We feed off of that. When he gets going, we’re a totally different team. It’s been that way for a while now. We’re going to continue to ride him and AD, and see how far we can go.” – Miller on Holiday’s outstanding performance

“It was crazy. He’s so athletic and the plays he makes, I don’t think he gets enough credit for the stuff he does. We appreciate what he does.” – Miller on Holiday’s highlight-reel left-handed dunk over Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic

“It’s good. I twisted it twice. The first time, I stepped on a fan’s foot, but it was not that bad (of a sprain). Then I twisted it by myself. I wanted to stay on the floor and finish the game. I’m sure with two days of treatments, I’ll be ready to go next game. Nothing to be worried about.” – Mirotic on dealing with an ankle injury

“I saw the ball coming off the rim and I thought, ‘Man!’ You always want to correct your wrongs. It’s not always smart to (go after an offensive rebound), but it was just good instincts. Then I thought I had an easy layup, but it rolled out, so I had to chase it down again. I was just trying to make whatever plays we needed to win, no matter how it had to get done.” – Moore on a bad news/good news sequence late, when he missed two free throws and a point-blank shot, but the Pelicans’ multiple boards put Portland in dire straits time-wise

5-17: New Orleans all-time franchise record in road games, with two of those victories taking place in the past four days. The Pelicans had never won more than one postseason road game even in a span of three successive seasons, with the previous triumphs coming in ’03, ’08 and ’11.

45.1: Portland shooting percentage from the field, which marked the first time in six total meetings vs. New Orleans that the Trail Blazers shot at least 45 percent (albeit barely).

2: Trail Blazers offensive rebounds in the second half Tuesday. Portland pounded the glass for 11 of those prior to intermission, but New Orleans did much better from there in controlling the category.

11: Combined fast-break points for the two teams, in a game that was much slower paced than Saturday’s Game 1.

12/24: Pelicans three-point shooting as a team, their best night in that category recently. They hadn’t made at least half of their trey attempts since going 13/24 at Oklahoma City on Feb. 2.

game-2-postgame-recap-pelicans-111-trail-blazers-102

Game 2 postgame recap: Pelicans 111, Trail Blazers 102

PORTLAND – The NBA’s fifth-best road team during the regular season secured a big victory away from home to open the postseason. New Orleans, which went 24-17 on the road, a better record than all but the elite of the league, led by 19 points in the second half Saturday, then withstood a furious charge from Portland to hold on for a series-opening triumph.

As was the case throughout the season, and particularly on the road, Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday led the way, scoring 35 and 21 points, respectively. Holiday also came up with several critical defensive plays, including blocking Pat Connaughton at the rim to preserve a three-point edge in the final seconds.

The Pelicans played one of their best defensive halves of 2017-18 en route to leading 45-36 at the break and were red-hot in the third quarter, but a drought helped the Trail Blazers fight their way back into the game.

Davis sank a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining, giving New Orleans a five-point lead. C.J. McCollum drained a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, but it came at the buzzer, only able to make the final score tighter.

Co-honors go to Davis and Holiday, with Davis securing his first NBA playoff win and Holiday continuing to demonstrate why he deserves first-team All-Defense recognition. On a night when New Orleans didn’t benefit from great shooting or its common offensive balance, the frontcourt/backcourt duo fired a combined 46 shots from the field, making 24. That accounted for more than half of the Pelicans’ makes and attempts on a night when the visitors were 41/86. Davis relied on his blend of accurate jump-shooting and elite athleticism to give Portland’s bigs big problems during his 41 minutes of action. Holiday logged 39 minutes and was a plus-12 with him on the court.

Ian Clark accounted for 10 of the bench’s 15 points, including a monumental three-pointer in crunch time that came off a broken play. His trifecta helped quell Portland’s rally, at least temporarily, and give New Orleans some much-needed breathing room. After filling a crunch-time role often all season, it was no surprise to see Clark (4/5 FGs, 2/2 on treys) be on the floor with the outcome hanging in the balance.

“I like him being on my team. I like that a lot better than playing against him. We talked during the last timeout. We said there are going to be two rebounds that we have to have. We get them, we’ll win the game, and if we don’t, we’re probably going to lose. He came up with both rebounds.” – Alvin Gentry on coaching Davis – an opponent of Gentry during the ’15 playoffs with Golden State – and Davis securing a pair of key boards in the final minute

“The last clip on the (pregame video) edit for the guys today, we always put a clip on there that says ‘game-winning plays’ and actually it was Jrue blocking a shot in the Portland game. Same guy, almost the exact same area and he came up with another block.” – Gentry on Holiday’s massive rejection of Connaughton, a repeat of a sequence that happened in a March 27 game in New Orleans

“(It was) really just meet him at the rim. The only thing he had was a layup or a dunk. It was going to be either a block or a foul. I was going to foul him hard. But since I saw the ball, I went for (the block).” – Holiday with WRNO 99.5 postgame radio on his swat of Connaughton

“Playing our game, pushing the ball and running the floor. But in all honesty, (the key was) defensively. Once (Rajon Rondo) gets the ball in transition, we’re hard to stop.” – Holiday on how New Orleans was able to build a 19-point lead

“It’s all effort, energy, especially coming off those (Portland) screens. We know how dangerous they are. They’re the head of the snake. We feel like if we can limit their shots, or have them take volume shots and kind of make it difficult and (force) bad shots, we’re going to do our best.” – Holiday on the Trail Blazers guard tandem of McCollum (7/18 from field) and Damian Lillard (6/23 from field) having an inefficient Game 1 vs. Pelicans

17: Rondo assists, tying the New Orleans single-game franchise playoff record, in his first-ever postseason appearance with the Pelicans.

37.8: Portland shooting percentage from the field. No member of the Trail Blazers made more than half of his shots Saturday, with Ed Davis’ 3/6 being the only player even at 50 percent.

12: Trail Blazers offensive rebounds, including five by Ed Davis and four from Evan Turner, an area the Pelicans must try to clean up Tuesday in Game 2.

22: Total free throws by the two clubs in a game that was not tightly officiated, allowing for a bit more contact than most NBA contests.

15: New Orleans turnovers, another area the Pelicans can improve in the next game. New Orleans had several possessions of poor execution in the fourth quarter, helping Portland cause some anxious late-game moments.

game-1-postgame-recap-pelicans-97-trail-blazers-95

Game 1 postgame recap: Pelicans 97, Trail Blazers 95

none

Presented By

Chevron

<a title="Pelicans Livestreams" href="https://www.nba.com/pelicans/live" target="_blank">LIVE: Pelicans at Thunder Game 2 Postgame with Willie Green, Pelicans Players | WATCH &gt;&gt;</a>