The Pelicans beat the Mavericks for the first time in ten tries and win 3 in a row for the first time all season, putting them two games over .500 for the first time since late November. The win puts the Pels back into 9th place in the West, one game ahead of OKC and 3 games out of the 8th seed. The winning streak comes at a good time as the Pels have 5 more in a row at home where they are 15-4.
The Pelicans led for a majority of the game, but not by much, and almost lost it in the 4th, the only quarter that Dallas won. It was a very entertaining, back and forth game as each team seemed to have an answer when the other went on a run. There were 5 lead changes in the last 2 minutes as Monta Ellis almost beat the Pels single handedly (36 points on 16-27 from the field), but with clutch buckets from Tyreke and Gordon, as well as some game-winning effort and FT shooting from Davis, the team held on.
Some notes on the game:
- It was a great team win, as the Pels had 5 players in scoring double digits, 3 with double-doubles, 27 assists on 40 field goals, and only 10 turnovers.
- Anderson had 14 huge points in the 2nd quarter alone, helping the Pels to a 36pt quarter (keeping pace with Dallas’34).
- Chandler Parsons, who had 20pts in both the previous matchups, was held to just 6pts on 6 shots and was largely a non-factor in the game.
- The Pelicans executed very well out of timeouts and inbounds plays, a category they typically excel in, but it made all the difference tonight.
- After heading into the 4th with a 5pt deficit, the Mavericks went on a 15-8 run to retake the lead 99-97. The Pelicans had stopped moving the ball and things started to tilt Dallas’ way, but the Pels ended the game on a 12-7 run and did not wilt under pressure.
Before the game I mentioned a couple things the Pels needed to key in on to get a win, and they hit on all 3:
- Defensive Emphasis – There wasn’t a ton of defense this game, but the Pels held a team that averages 107.9ppg to 106, and got stops when they needed them, including a steal on a crucial inbounds play with 11 seconds left.
- PG Play – The Pels really held their own here. In 42mins Tyreke Evans recorded a season high 12 assists to go along with 24pts (11-19FG) and only 3TO. The Pels also held Dallas backup guards Devin Harris and J.J. Barea to 1-10 from the field.
- Anderson had a great bounce back performance. 18pts on 6-10 from the field (2-3 from deep).
Next up for the Pelicans is a Monday night matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers 7CT at the Smoothie King Center.
8 responses to “It Happened, It Happened, Oh My God It Finally Happened”
That 3 from Gordon with about 2 minutes left really seemed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In the minutes leading up to that, the Mavs had made a steady push to gain ground then take the lead against the Pels. There had been a drought of scoring from the Pels for awhile and it really felt like “here we go again”, letting this great opportunity slip away. But the unlikeliest of heros seemed to step up just when we needed a clutch shot to make it winnable again. Gordon really seems to be a player determined to make his career relevant again. What timing, marvelous.
RobertWelch Almost exactly my sentiment just added one the previous Gordon article just now. That shot resurrected us as the air was coming out of the balloon both on the court and in the Arena as Dallas bolted into the lead at the end. That one shot raised the entire crowd to its feet into the timeout and beyond it, and helped lead our boys to some big plays to pull out the victory. We provided the fuel they needed, but Gordon’s timely 3 from the deep corner saved the day.
RobertWelch And Anderson was unconscious in the first half with 18…ashame we could not get him in the mix in the 2nd though…I thought he played some pretty good defense on the Dallas bigs…I also thought the refs were terribly one-sided tonight, and I don’t mean in our favor…so many bad calls Ryno def in corner, Tyreke drive across lane, Asik rebound (1st one when he was in front blocking out)…
Yeah, I honestly thought the Pels were headed to another 4th quarter collapse but Gordon (on what was a pretty bad offensive possession) seemed to light a spark.
That Gordon 3 helped us climb out of the hole he helped dig with his previous couple of misses, IMO. He was a big part of the dry spell (along with some typical “playoff refereeing”) that got us down late. I thought Gordon’s assists and his back-to-back 3s in the 2nd were just as critical to the team, so he is earning back some respect from me.
I’m still mystified by the fringe rotation patterns with Wolters/Fredette and Ajinca/Withey. I thought Wolters hurt us more than helped us in this game, and don’t see the logic in giving Fredette 9 seconds of playing time. Not a big deal, but curious…
Davis’ long range game appears to be suffering a bit lately, but her is doing a great job of adjusting his game to compensate. the same can be said for Anderson, Evans, and Gordon. Let’s hope they continue to play smart ball when they get an “easy” opponent in front of them……
Very excited by the win and our overall play, but our mid-4th Quarter blues and 8 man rotation tonight (especially with a back-to-back) concern me.
Imagine this team if we can find one more Q-Pon or Cunningham at PG.
The energy in the SKC was incredible last night. The Pelicans definitely feed off of it. So many clutch plays made in this game…..but to me AD’S block and inbound steal were the plays of the game. ….Q-Pon and Dante supply the glue to keep this team from falling apart at some crucial times. ….Dell knocked it out the park with these two. …
Tyreke had one of his best distribution games as a Pel and was finishing at the rim.
Ryno came in red hot and was nailing his midrange shot.
Eric Gordon can still play ball and is bringing his name back to prominence.
Omer Asik DOES have hands.
GREAT WIN! Let’s go streaking!