Bench Krewe Helps Pelicans Stay Alive in Win Over Nets

For at least another week, the Pelicans start every game with little room for error. Decimated by injury, half the starting lineup Wednesday night was composed of bench players.

The Davis-Anderson-Holliday trio all remained sidelined with injury. Between the three of them there is 57 points/game worth of scoring sitting on the bench.

But for the third game in a row, that didn’t deter the New Orleans Pelicans active players a.k.a., “The Bench Krewe”. And as a result, New Orleans remained alive and well for a shot at making the NBA Playoffs in the process.

The Pelicans popped out to an early first quarter lead, going 5/9 while building a 14-4 lead. The Nets quickly cut the deficit down, and kept it within a few points until the 4th quarter.

Brook Lopez controlled the paint early for Brooklyn, quickly tallying up 15 first-half points.

Going into the half, New Orleans held a 53-50 advantage, despite 10 first-half turnovers and sub-par performance from their healthy guards.

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It looked like the mistakes were going to derail the Pels in 3rd quarter, going over five and a half minutes without scoring a single point and turning the ball over on six of eight possessions.

Their defense kept the game close though, holding the Nets to a two-minute stretch of futility were they also failed to score one point.

Then New Orleans figured out how to hold on to the ball. Closing out the quarter, the Pels scored on 8 of their final 11 possessions to preserve their 3-point lead.

The team somehow managed this while Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans shot a combined 4/20 through three quarters.

Gordon had an abysmal evening, finishing 2/11 for 8 pts, none of which were scored in the second half.

Evans on the other hand managed to find the bucket a few times in the 4th. He helped the team find the hot hand all night, tallying up 11 assists to go with 15 pts for another double-double.

Feb 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) shoots over Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young (30) and guard Deron Williams (8) during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Nets 102-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Both the Nets and Pelicans made moves at the trade deadline.

Last night, Thaddeus Young won the matchup of recently acquired players. He was hot from the tip, dropping in 13 early points on 5/7 shooting in the first half. (Not a bad trade considering it only cost the Nets the corpse of Kevin Garnett).

Norris Cole was no slouch himself, scoring double-digits again, a mark he’s reached in every game with the Pelicans. His acquisition has come up huge for the team at a time when they have struggled to find consistent guard play.

Feb 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Norris Cole (30) drives past Brooklyn Nets guard Markel Brown (22) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Nets 102-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

During a stretch when the Pelicans opened up the lead to 11 in the 4th, Cole was calmly controlling the offense.

He and Alexis Ajinca already have developed a nice chemistry, connecting on a closely-guarded alley-oop. They infected the offense with an unselfish flurry of passes, creating offense off the assist, sparking the run.

Quincy Pondexter set a new career-high of 25 points, scoring the final three on a tre to seal the game with :50 remaining. He was the star of the broadcast, receiving the Mic’d Up treatment from NOLA’s local Fox Sports program.

He deserved the attention though, shooting 9/13 including 4/8 from deep. His energy set the tone for the team the whole night with a scrappy hustle and defensive intensity the team needed in the absence of its star.

The Nets rallied in the 4th to cut the lead down to five but big shots, including the three from Pondexter mentioned above, were enough to hold on for a 102-96 Pelicans victory (free Chick-Fil-A fries!).

New Orleans turned it over (an almost impressive) 20 times. This contributed to an 18 field goal advantage for the Nets (they took 92 shots compared to the Pels 74). Despite the help, Brooklyn only converted one more field goal than the Pelicans.

This makes it three-in-a-row for the thin Pelicans squad. “The Bench Krewe” was especially impressive with Cole’s steady game and another nice night from Ajinca (10 pts 4 rebs 2 ast). While Pondexter is on loan to the starting lineup, the bench still managed to chip in 29 total points.

Feb 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Quincy Pondexter (20) drives past Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson (7) during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Nets 102-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

With a healthy lineup, the addition of Cole, and Pondexter coming back of the bench, the Pelicans look a lot deeper than they did when Jimmer Fredette was playing more than zero minutes.

Omer Asik joined Evans in the double-double club tonight, scoring 12 points and pulling down 13 rebounds (4 offensive). He and Ajinca have both stepped up nicely the last two nights in Davis’s absence combining for 22 points 17 rebs.

Friday, they face a big challenge in the Heat’s emerging big man Hassan Whiteside, a player who regularly throws up Deandre Jordan-type stats.

The Pelicans will look to keep match a season-high 4-win streak against Miami Friday night on ESPN. They currently stand at 9th place, one game ahead of Phoenix and two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Every game takes on extra weight this time of year, especially in a tight playoff race. But in this league, you’re only one untimely injury away from total defeat or total glory.

But for the moment, thanks to the “Bench Krewe” — the Pels stayed alive in the Western Conference Playoff race, and lived to fight another day……..

Next: Do the Pelicans Still Have a Chance in the Wild West?

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