Every team that makes the leap has a few moments you can look back on and remember clearly. Games or moments that tested their mettle and honed them rather than broke them. I can’t predict the future – I thought we were experiencing this back in 2007. This could go that way and be soured – or it could be one of those moments that is just a start to something incredible. I can’t help but feel it’s the latter.
The Spurs wanted this game. They were throwing punches as they went down, and don’t let anyone tell you different. Parker, Leonard and Duncan all played much more than their season averages in minutes and Ginobili was only a minute short himself. They unleashed the Hack-an-Asik in the fourth to narrow the lead and break what resistance the Pelicans had in the interior, and it almost worked.
But it didn’t. The Pelicans were able to hold on with a combination of nice play calls, brilliance by Evans, and the cat-quick reflexes of Anthony Davis, who spent last six minutes battling about 700 lbs of combined weight in the paint between Duncan (250) and Diaw (ahem) and coming out on top.
The guys were emotional afterwards, and I won’t deny that seeing that blazingly happy crew after the game (Davis wanting to rejoin his teammates, Monty with his family) didn’t get me a little too . . .
You need to remember, this might be Davis’ grand entry into the playoffs – but Evans and Gordon just broke through themselves after stretches of NBA futility that had to be weighing on them. Good on you, guys. Everything from here is Gravy, and enjoy it.
Other Observations
- Cole unleashed the beast in the second quarter – and kept counter-punching the Spurs as they tried to make a first-half run. Monty used him perfectly. As soon as Cole went heat-check jumper instead of penetrating and getting shots in the flow, he pulled him. In the second half, he played him, saw they had switched the defense on him and he wasn’t getting the same looks, and went instead with Jrue.
- Those two guards off the bench were key. 24 points on 19 shots is good work.
- Jrue got 25 minutes, up from the 15 he had been getting. Monty gave him 10 minutes in the first half, 5 in the third, and rode him from the 9-minute mark in the fourth, keeping him out there in crunch time. The difference he made on the defense on Tony Parker was significant. Can you remember a big shot from Parker in the fourth?
- Speaking of Defense, you have to give Asik a world of credit. Do you know what Duncan did while Asik was on the floor? 6 points, 3 rebounds. That’s it. He battled and fought and helped and did everything you could ask of him – and I’m 100% convinced that the reason the Spurs almost took the game was the fact he wasn’t clogging the middle in the fourth and Ryan Anderson was a tire fire on defense.
- Davis was pressing a bit in the first half – making a move before corralling the ball, trying a little too much with the dribble. But he settled down, kept attacking, hit some big shots and got some golden blocks on the defensive end. His statline was 31 points on 26 shots, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks and 6 turnovers. And perversely, it feels like he didn’t play as well as he could. I take this guy for granted. I’m a bad person.
- Evans was a wrecking ball – especially when they didn’t run a pick and roll for him – which forced his guy to play him one-on-one without any big man containment help. Tyreke’s handle makes that pretty dicey against some defenders. I did get a little worried when the team started running iso’s for him against Belinelli that the offense was bogging down, but it was three possessions, it didn’t generate the right results, and they abandoned it. Good call.
- Anyone else dying in the fourth when the Pelicans kept barely getting it over the line in 8 seconds?
- Monty has a sweet play to get Gordon a straight-away three. Gordon cuts to the elbow and sets a screen for Davis who is flashing across the paint and runs out to set a pick for Tyreke on the wing. Tyreke charges towards the free throw line past Davis’ pick, which forces two defenders to cut him off. Davis blitzes towards the baseline like he’s expecting the lob, which forces Gordon’s guy to account for him. The end result is three guys running towards the basket to contain Davis and Evans – and Evans simply flips the ball back to Gordon who has flared to the top of the three point line. This has been in their playbook the past three weeks – and they ran it twice tonight for open threes by Gordon. Good stuff.
- Monty made a bad call in the fourth by inbounding the ball under the Pelicans basket when the Spurs were trying to foul. Yes, I know the idea is to spread the floor and get, theoretically, more space to play with and inbound into. The problem is a turnover resulted and the Spurs were right there at the basket. The Spurs are looking for quick scores at that point, and that turnover gift wrapped a quick 3 points that only took 3 seconds.
- Much will be made that the Pelicans held a hot-shot volume 3-point shooting team like the Spurs in check from deep, but I felt they only did an okay job at that. There were fewer threes because the Spurs were getting penetration to the rim against the Pelicans and getting shots there. Why shoot threes when you can shoot layups?
Bring on Golden State!
12 responses to “Pelicans return to the Post Season by ending Spurs Win Streak”
Tremendous game and accomplishment for our boys! The game was too much fun and the crowd without a doubt infused their excitement into our efforts. It was near nirvana during the end of the first beginning of the second as shot after shot went in while the Spurs could only watch and take it. Still we all knew that game would not be decided that early.
I’d like to echo Cole’s fantastic offensive help in the first half. It was a thing of beauty. I hope we never hear from another Jrue-trade hater again…they guy is fantastic and you are 100% absolutely right on what he did to Parker in the 4th…Parker was having one hell of a night cutting around and thru us like no defenders were in sight. I think the moment when Holiday bucked up on Parker and got the foul called, that it sent a message and Parker was not the same after that. Gordon also showed up to play tonight as his 3’s in the fourth at the top of the key were monstrous. Evans had a positive Evans night, but yes the crowd got ansy after a couple of missed ISO’s. Still he was great when we needed him.
You are also spot on regarding Davis. If he has a “normal” shooting night we kill them, but he was taking on an awful lot of body blows and weight during that game. I’m glad Monty finally rested him in the first after Diaw scored on 3 consecutive trips in the 2nd Qtr…dude was tired. And he only sat out the final 1:38 of the 3rd as I recall.
One hell of a lot of fun for sure! Think I’m going to have to stay up and watch the midnight rebroadcast, or at least tape it to relive the excitement!
The national media SOOOO wanted OKC to advance so they could continue to suck Westbrook’s d!@k. Everyone counted us out in this game, despite the fact that we should have SWEPT the Spurs this season if not for the freak tip in from Asik that sent that game into overtime. Spurs got an old fashioned bitch slap tonight. The crowd really kept the intensity up as well and helped the Pels withstand that late run.
I tip my cap to Dell Demps. The man kept dealing and filled out the bench with all of the right pieces. Cunningham, Pondexter (for Rivers!), and Cole were HUGE pickups. Every player on this team contributed big minutes at one point or another over the course of the season. Ajinca and Babbitt really carried us for stretches when Davis and Anderson were hurt, Jimmer clinched a couple of games with big free throws, and Whithey finally cut that gross haircut!
Tyreke Evans is a force of nature. His ability to drive past anyone is a huge complement to Davis. None of you probably listen to the games on the radio, but one night I was listening and in the post game interview he said he told Davis during the shoot around that “he looked liked sh!t.” The dude is hilarious and plays through a lot of pain.
Gordon gets his first taste of the playoffs, and I’m sure he is finally happy and at peace with being in New Orleans.
Oh, and Anthony Davis. . . that guy is good.
Very happy for Monty. I think he’s the right coach for this team, and he’s learning and improving along with the guys. Also, a fun drinking game, if anyone wants to try it, is taking a drink everytime Monty says “guys” during his post game interviews. You’ll get completely sloshed!
Sorry to ramble. I was confident we’d win the game, but I’m relieved to finally have that game in the books.
GO PELICANS!!!!! Westbrook and OKC can suck it!
Boris Diaw, please! http://i.imgur.com/0A585wW.gif
Congrats to the Pelicans! Glad Schwan and McNamara were wrong. (They’re glad too, of course.) Before the playoffs start, while we still can dream, I have to say I’m not unhappy about the draw? Golden State has all the glamor right now, but what if we learned something in the run-up to the playoffs? What if we learned that we can give Curry his, and if we take Thompson and Green out of their games, we can score enough to win? Furthermore, is anybody here afraid of Memphis? Odds are they take out Portland in six, and if the Pelicans shock the world in the first round, they’d likely take on a Memphis with a gimpy Gasol and Conley. I like our chances against that team. Sure they whipped N.O. last week, the night after the titanic win over G. State and the Pelicans having to travel to them, but we’ve been competitive against Memphis, and may be in better physical shape at this point in the season.
I’m not just setting myself up for disappointment, because I’ve always lived in New Orleans and believe me, I know that sports success is not promised, and most of the world is expecting an 0-4 rout by GS. But we’ve improved the roster late in the year, we’re getting better defense from our perimeter people than at any time this season, AD has become self-aware enough that he now expects to dominate, so we are not exactly pushovers, and we could sneak up on teams that are already planning their victory parades. A Game 1 shocker and a split on the coast against an overconfident G State gives us a chance to play the “Nobody Believes in Us” card Bill Simmons likes to talk about, unleash Playoffs UniBrow, and take the West by surprise. I’m not planning on it working out that way, but I’m not ruling it out, either.
I can dream, can’t I? If not now, when?
Oh, yeah. I can’t remember the formula from the Asik trade. Do we get to keep our pick?
Sportnlyfe it sounds reasonable to me. . .
Ascension! Yes!
Hey BSS writers…any way to post or explain how to search the archives for our beginning of the season record projections? Maybe the winner gets dinner at Tracey’s!
Sportnlyfe Nope. The Pelicans needed the 10th best record to keep it, so they hand the Rockets the 18th pick of the draft.
With all hands on deck, the Pels will be a tough out. This will not be as easy for Golden State as people think. I like how we match up with them.
yo @nolahog ..I’m stealin this
Best part was hearing Joel Myers yelling at tyreke to get across the line in the fourth. But gordon dropped the dagger in with that straight away three. Great team effort and gordon finally earned his money. Geaux pels!!!!