Davis’ Big Night Not Enough as Pelicans Lose 5th Straight

The Pelicans (0-5) fought tooth and nail to try and earn their first victory of the season on Friday, but were not able to get the job done against the Atlanta Hawks (6-0).

The final score, 121-115, could have been a lot worse. Late in the third quarter, Atlanta increased their lead to as much as seventeen points.

Sharpshooter Kyle Korver was a big reason why.

Nov 6, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) shoots against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Korver was a perfect 8-8 from the field tonight, and 4-4 from three point range. Though he is known for his shot, he filled up the entire stat sheet tonight.

Seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, a block and zero turnovers to go along with his twenty two points is quite the efficient night.

Korver was not always wide open either. Eric Gordon defended some of the shots fairly well, but the Hawks just do such a good job of creating the tiniest bit of space for Korver to launch from.

He may be thirty four years old, but the man is still a weapon to be feared.

The lead was at its peak in the third quarter, but the Pelicans actually won that quarter 32-31.

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In fact, the only quarter they lost was the second (32-19), and that abysmal twelve minutes was enough to drag the entire game down with it.

The Pels cut the lead to ten by the end of the third quarter, but the start of the fourth quarter was about as bad as an omen that could have been.

The Hawks were granted a technical free throw when six Pelicans took the floor, a call that is simply never made for obvious reasons.

Alvin Gentry, furious not only at the call but his team as a whole for the boneheaded mistake, picked up a technical of his own, putting Atlanta up by twelve before a second had even ticked off of the clock.

Anthony Davis did all he could to get his team back in the game, and quite frankly he was able to do just that. The Pelicans were able to tie up the score late in the fourth quarter.

Davis tied his career high with 43 points, most of which came in the second half. He was finding space, getting the ball in stride and knocking down open jump shots. For the first time this season, he finally looked like the superstar big man we have come to know.

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With the score tied at 108, the Hawks were able to go on a 7-0 run to take the lead. After a Pelicans make, Jeff Teague darted towards the basket and shot the ball off of the camera seated behind the backboard.

Instead of the play resulting in a turnover and a chance for New Orleans to once again cut to lead to a single possession, the referees missed the call and Atlanta pushed the lead back to seven.

With only a couple of minutes left to go in the game at that point, it really hurt, and the Pelicans were never able to recover.

Nov 6, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots over Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford (15) and guard Kent Bazemore (24) during the first quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

This team has had trouble getting stops, but it is not as bad as it seems. Gentry’s pace calls for a ridiculously higher amount of possessions for both teams, resulting in higher total scores. Monty Williams liked to take things slow, so some games tended to be a lot less explosive.

Just because the final scores are bigger this year does not mean the defense has taken a step back. Sure, it still is not where it needs to be, but there is still plenty of time to sort those things out as more guys get healthy.

Ish Smith did well setting the table for his teammates tonight with a career high eleven assists. Not being able to shoot very well hurts his value, but as long as he can get Davis the ball consistently he will have a role with this team.

Eric Gordon played a solid game in his own right, scoring twenty two points on 8-15 shooting. As long as he keeps nailing his open attempts and stays aggressive around the rim, he can get back to being a consistent twenty point scorer.

Oct 31, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) shoots against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter at Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 134-120. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Anderson electrified the crowd with a put back dunk to bring the Pels even in the fourth quarter.

He only finished with ten points, but Ryno still managed to make some big plays. When the Pels were having trouble getting stops down the stretch, he came up with two nice blocks in the post.

He still has plenty of room to grow, but he is moving well and looks more athletic than ever. If that shot starts to catch fire, the Pels offense will follow suit.

The Pelicans are at 0-5 right now, which is far from desirable.

It is not going to get much easier either, as the first twenty games of their schedule is the hardest in the NBA.

But things are looking up.

They outplayed a fantastic basketball team in three quarters tonight. As long as they keep a consistent effort for 48 minutes, this team has shown it can still be a force to be reckoned with.

They take the court again tomorrow night against the Dallas Mavericks…..