Another night another disappointing loss for the Pelicans against a sub-.500 team from the East. Looking at the stat sheet the Pelicans out shot, out rebounded, and assisted more than the Celtics did, but 18 big turnovers and 10 more FT attempts for Boston led to the Pels falling 98-104.  The loss keeps the Pels a full game behind OKC and the 8th spot, while the win keeps Boston within a game and a half of the Eastern Conference’s 8th seed.

The Pels’ point-guard play tonight was not up to snuff, Cole and Evans combined for 12 turnovers to 9 assists, and shot 7-21 from the field, while Isaiah Thomas had his best game as a Celtic, scoring 27 on 8-13 from the field. The Pelicans are now 0-2 against Boston this season and 13-14 against the East.

The effort seemed to be there but certainly not the execution, as the Pels looked just a half step slow tonight and could never really get it going. Unable to contain Thomas or defend the 3pt line (Boston was 10-23 from deep), the Pelicans could only hope to outscore their opponent, but they couldn’t set up the 3pt shot and they couldn’t get to the line. This marks the 4th game in a row the Pelicans have failed to reach 100 points.

The two teams played each other evenly through the first half, but New Orleans shot just 38.9% in the 3rd coupled with 6 turnovers, and opened the 4th on the wrong side of a 11-3 run; they never recovered. New Orleans just seemed to be missing that extra something, and failed to take a golden opportunity to take the 8th seed from Oklahoma City with just 20 games left to play in the season

Next up for the Pels Memphis comes to town tomorrow night, the second of a back-to-back for both clubs.

Don’t forget, Bourbonstreetshots is hosting its very own watch party at Tracey’s on Magazine Street Tuesday as the Pels take on the Nets on the road, come out for a good time with good company.