The New Orleans Pelicans played their fourth game of the season without Anthony Davis on Saturday night (Nov. 24) against a struggling Washington Wizards squad.
Unfortunately for the Pelicans, they are still looking for their first win without Davis.
New Orleans allowed Washington to shoot a season-high 56.7 percent from the field as the Wizards defeated the Pelicans, 124-114.
The shooting percentage was also the best the Pelicans have allowed an opponent to shoot all season.
The win was the third consecutive loss for New Orleans and dropped the Pelicans to 10-10 on the season. New Orleans also fell to just 2-9 this season away from the Smoothie King Center.
Julius Randle started for Davis and contributed in a big way. He finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes. Nikola Mirotic hit five 3-pointers for the first time since Oct. 19 and finished with 24 points.
Davis missed the game with a strained right hip, his fourth missed game of the season. The Pelicans were 0-3 without Davis prior to Saturday with all of the contests coming on the road.
The game featured 20 lead changes and 14 ties, but Washington controlled the fourth quarter.
New Orleans took a 91-90 lead into the fourth quarter, but Washington started the final frame with an 11-3 run to take the lead. The Pelicans eventually cut the lead to two thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Mirotic but the Wizards answered that with a 9-2 run and never looked back.
The Pelicans, despite scoring 109 points, had one of their worst offensive performances of the season against the Knicks. New Orleans shot a season-low 39.6 percent from the field and only knocked down seven 3-pointers, the second-lowest mark of the year.
They improved on that end shooting 47.8 percent and making 10 3-pointers against the Wizards but took a step back defensively.
Washington forward Otto Porter had a season-high 29 points, John Wall had 22 points and former Pelicans guard Austin Rivers had 18 points off the bench.
Another starting 5: Without Davis, the Pelicans started Julius Randle in his place alongside Holiday, Moore, Mirotic and Wesley Johnson.
That’s the eighth different starting lineup the Pelicans have used this season in just 20 games. Entering Saturday’s games, only the Minnesota Timberwolves (10), Toronto Raptors (eight), Miami Heat (eight) and Oklahoma City Thunder (eight) and had used that many starting fives so far this season.
Records: New Orleans 10-10; Washington 7-12
Up next: The Pelicans return to the Smoothie King Center on Monday when the team welcomes the Boston Celtics to town. The Pelicans and Wizards take the court against each other on Wednesday night to complete their two-game season series.