The New Orleans Pelicans have won two straight at home and are now 5-1 at home on the season after a 119-99 win against the Phoenix Suns.
The New Orleans Pelicans continue their strong play at home led by superstar Anthony Davis and a strong defensive performance. The Pelicans have held their last two opponents under 100 points.
Key stat of the game…
12. This was the number of points the Suns star Devin Booker had for the evening. Coming in averaging 26 points a game, Booker was constantly hounded by Jrue Holiday for much of the evening. It took Booker 12 shots to get the 12 points as you could see the frustration mount up for him.
The Pelicans as a team were strong defensively as they held Phoenix to just 28% three-point shooting for the game and forced 17 turnovers as well. The Pelicans also outrebounded Phoenix by 17 boards and scored 10 more points in the paint.
It was over when…
Periodically throughout the night Phoenix managed to hang around as New Orleans could not put them away. This finally changed midway through the 4th as the Pels turned a single digit lead to 19 with about three minutes to play.
A series of turnovers on the part of the Suns led to fast break opportunities for the Pelicans. The Pelicans finished the game with 25 points of turnovers. Booker’s inability to get going allowed the Pelicans to maintain a lead even though they themselves had a few offensive dry spells.
Player of the game…
While it would be easy to point to Anthony Davis’ 26 point, 13 rebound performance as the catalyst for the Pelicans win, we come to expect such things from Davis on a night to-night basis. This player of the game nod goes to Jrue Holiday.
While his stat line was good, 19 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds, his true mark on the game came on the other end of the court. What he did against Devin Booker is truly remarkable. Remember, Booker has once scored 70 points in a NBA game. The kid can straight ball.
For Jrue to nightly take on the responsibility of guarding the opposition’s best wing player and be asked to be the primary ball handler while Elfrid Payton is out has been an extraordinary load to bear. Jrue has shown up and shown out in this role and keeps on getting better and better.
The Pelicans now head north as they take on the Toronto Raptors on Monday evening. Let’s see if they can carry this recent momentum on the road as they look to get their first road win since opening night.