Pelicans 119, Mavericks 116 For better or worse, this team is not intentionally tanking, and to make sure of it, they had some bad officiating karma go their way last night. Up by one, they were about to give up the game winning basket on a layup with :02 to play, but it was blocked by Murphy, who was then fouled and made 2 FT's for the final margin. Replay showed he had in fact goal tended, but the refs didn't call it and the rules prohibit a goal tend that wasn't called from being challenged. Pels were down 9 midway through the fourth but Dejounte Murray shot them back into the game. He finished with 30 pts, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. Murphy had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and with every game, it feels like he makes Ingram more expendable. By the way, he's on a run of 50 consecutive made FT's, a franchise record. Zion was coddled, as usual, but should be ready for the next two, both against Utah, Friday and Monday.
Pelicans 136, Utah 123 Pelicans 123, Utah 110 (OT) Two wins against Utah that were mirror images. Game 1: Pels scored 42 in the 1Q, led by 26 early, then spent the rest of the game fending off comebacks. Zion got in foul trouble early but managed 24 points, 14 reb, 6 ast and 3 blk in just 22 minutes. His 8 offensive rebounds tied a career high. Game 2: Without Zion or Missi (non-Covid), Utah scored the first 14 points, led by as much as 25 in the 3Q, then Pels complete the largest comeback in franchise history for the win. CJ went off for 45, mostly in the second half, Murray had 26 pt, 11 ast, 9 reb, Murphy with 24 (and he finally hit a clutch shot! Buried a 3 for a 4 point lead with :30 in OT), Hawkins 18. Four wins in a row, 7 of the last 10, they ain't intentionally tanking. 10 games out of the play-in, 12 out of the 6 seed with 38 to play. Home for Milwaukee tomorrow if the weather allows.
Interesting home matchup with Dallas tonight, after an awful 3 game road trip. Pels shot well but had no defense against Memphis (I think they shot nearly 70% in the second half), but then put out two absolutely atrocious performances against Charlotte and Toronto. Actually didn't play that badly in the second half against the Raptors, overcame a 17-point deficit and had the lead a couple of times, but again, poor defensive effort and no answer for Poetl inside; when he was in the game, Toronto owned the paint. Also noteworthy that Zion has played lights out since returning from his hammy injury....when he's played. He's yet to play more than 28 minutes a night since his return. Also a lot of talk the last 24 hours about a package trade with Toronto, Ingram and others for R.J. Barrett and others. Not sure I like the idea...statistically, Barrett is a step down from C.J. McCollum at SG, at least as far as 3-point shooting is concerned. Doesn't make as many, and at a lower percentage.
Celtics 118, Pelicans 116 Celtics sweep the season series by a combined total of 3 points. In this one, Jason Tatum won it with a mid-range jumper with :00.2 on the clock. Worse, Dejounte Murray tore his Achilles in the first quarter; done for the year and will likely miss the start of next season. That injury probably will have the FO rethinking its priorities on an Ingram trade. Wasted in the game was a 40-point night for Murphy, who was 8 of 12 on his threes. Five straight losses and now a tough 4-game road trip that starts with 2 games at Denver.
Nuggets 125, Pelicans 113 Nuggets ran out to a double digit lead late in the first quarter and never trailed after that, Pels could get no closer than 8. Another spectacular offensive night for Trey, tieing his personal high with 41. Second straight night shooting 8 for 12 behind the arc, his 24 points in the 3rd quarter was the best quarter in franchise history, and his 113 points over the last 3 games is second in team history only to Anthony Davis. CJ had 30 but Zion with an uninspiring 14 was the only other guy in double figures. Six straight losses, same two teams tomorrow night.
Brandon Ingram traded to Toronto for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, Indiana's 1st round pick in 2026 and a 2nd round pick. Earlier in the day, they traded Daniel Theiss to OKC for cash. Olynyk is an upgrade from Theiss as backup big man. Other than that, not much of a trade (there were brief rumors Grady Dick would be included in the package, but in the end, they didn't get dick for Ingram). Thanks for your service, BI. Nuggets 144, Pelicans 119 After the most entertaining and competitive first half of a game all season - it was 68--68 at the break - Denver ramped up the defense and blew the Pels out in the second half. They clamped down on Murphy as expected but I liked his response, still scored 25 on just 16 shots, but had a career-high 9 assists. Zion had 28 in just over 26 minutes...why the hell are they still acting like he just came off the injury list? Also note that Karlo Matkovic made his first career start and didn't do badly; 10 pts, 9 reb and 2 blocks in 29 minutes. Jordan Hawkins twisted an ankle, x-rays negative but I'm sure they'll sit him for a month. At Sacramento Saturday night, presumably with Olynyk and Brown available.
Herb Jones now officially out for the year. So for the record, we are 53 games into the season. In terms of lineup spots, that's 265 possible games. To this point, the projected top 5 at the beginning of the year - Zion, Ingram, Murray, McCollum and Jones - have missed a total of 138 games. The top two reserves behind that projected lineup - Murphy and Hawkins - have missed a combined 32 games. The previously mentioned top 5 did not play a single second as a unit this season. Not sure, but I believe Olynyk and Brown will make their debuts tonight.
Kings 119, Pels 111 A very erratic offensive night for anyone not named Zion or Jose. Zion had 33 pts, 9 reb and 7 ast in under 28 minutes; his efficiency has been phenomenal since his return from the hammy, and it looks like he'll be on this under-30-minute count for the rest of the season. Alvarado had 19 pts, 9 ast, but the Kings made up their mind Trey Murphy wasn't going to beat them, and they succeeded; he was 6 of 16 from the field, 1 of 6 deep. His potential is off the charts but for now, he is a much less consistent second scoring option than BI was. Jordan Hawkins was the first guy off the bench, but its interesting to notice that Antonio Reeves played more minutes than Hawk, and I have to think the club is starting to question his value. Same two teams run it back tonight.
Pelicans 140, Kings 133 (OT) Simply put, CJ McCollum won the game. After scoring just 6 points in the first half, CJ went for 37 in the second half and OT, including 7 of 12 3's. Really fun game, with 22 lead changes and 15 ties, and neither team ever led by double digits. Kings clamped down on Trey again and he still nearly got a triple double, with 18 pts, a career-high 11 ast and 9 reb. Missi hurt his knee in the second quarter (didn't look too bad, but I'd bet on him missing the Rising Stars games this weekend), but Matkovic and Robinson-Earl stepped up nicely with 13 and 16 respectively. Pels still have the second worst record in the league entering the All Star break. They're at Dallas coming out of the break.
Pels make a monetary deal with Javonte Green and release him, looks like Cleveland will pick him up. Bruce Brown looks like he'll fill his shoes as a defensive specialist off the bench, gives really good effort on D, but man, the guy has no offensive game at all. In each of the last two games, he's gotten a wide open look at a 3, I mean the kind where the guy's got time to examine the ball and make sure its an official NBA ball before he shoots....and he airballed both. Waiting to hear if Missi, Boston and Olynyk will be available when play resumes at Dallas tomorrow.
