Nuggets Outlast Pels

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Published: January 28, 2015

The Pelicans lost to the Nuggets for the second time this season 93-85, ending New Orleans’ 4 game winning streak and Denver’s 7 game losing streak.  The Pels were down by as many as 16 in the first half, but battled all the way back to tie the game at 70 by the end of the 3rd.  Tyreke Evans scored 15 of his 25 in the 3rd quarter, but unfortunately for New Orleans, with about 2 minutes to go in the 3rd, Anthony Davis went down and had to be helped to the locker room.  He would return and play in the 4th, but did not finish the game.  The Pels were as close as 85-86, but went scoreless the last 2:55 of the game.  As of tonight the Pels sit one game ahead of OKC and two game behind Phoenix.

 

The Pelicans battled hard all night, ending the game with 17 offensive rebounds and 20 second chance points, but just couldn’t hit their shots.  They ended the night 39% from the field, 3 of 15 from deep, with 15 assists to 32 field goals (compared to Denver’s 45.9% with 30 assists to 39 field goals).  Davis (8 of 15) and Evans (11 of 22) were the only ones who seemed to get it going offensively, as the rest of the team was a combined 13 of 45 (~29%).   Gordon (4 of 15) and Anderson (3 of 10) both struggled, scoring 11 a piece.

 

Before the game I mentioned 3 things the Pels would need to do to come away with a win:

  1. Win the Paint – the Pels and Nuggets played it pretty even here, scoring 42 a piece in the paint, but the Pelicans had quite a few good looks wasted, which is basically the story of the night.
  2. Keep the Ball Moving – The effort was there, but the execution was not for the offense.  The ball movement was ok, but once Davis went out, the offense never got back any type of rhythm, even after his return.
  3. Control the Tempo – I thought the Pels did a good job here.  They got back in transition (only six fast break points for Denver), and held Denver to just 93 points.  The Pelicans’ defense didn’t allow too much early offensive and challenged everything, making life difficult for the Nuggets, but Denver just couldn’t miss to start the game.

Frustrating loss for New Orleans but they’ll need a short memory, next up is the LA Clippers on Friday in the SKC

 

 

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