Pelicans Rain 3’s Over Wizards, 107-105
By Mike Delayo
Even though it’s a bit before my time (I’m the youngest writer at Big Easy Believer), I’m quite familiar with the old song “It’s Raining Men”. Last night in the Smoothie King Center in downtown New Orleans, it was raining 3-point baskets. And the New Orleans Pelicans were the ones causing the inclement weather.
The backcourt trio of Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon knocked down 13 of New Orleans’ franchise record 16 three pointers in the Pelicans 107-105 victory over the Washington Wizards.
The best part of that stat is that the volume was on par with the efficiency: the team shot a preposterous 59.3% from downtown.
Anthony Davis, who was 1-3, and Dante Cunningham, 2-2, were responsible for the other three point makes.
The win improves the Pelicans record to 6-16, and drops the Wizards to 9-12.
Though pulling out the win feels good, the Pels still have a long way to go.
Dec 11, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) drives past Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Wizards 107-105. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
A historic shooting night like tonight should always amount to a comfortable victory, yet Washington was almost able to take the game.
Led by a superstar effort from point guard John Wall, who tallied 26 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds, the Wizards shot 50% from the field. Though the Pels were scorching from deep, they were not too shabby either, hitting a solid 12 of their 17 attempts.
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For one of the first times this season, the Pelicans were not the most injury riddled team in the building. Washington was without star shooting guard Bradley Beal and big men Kris Humphries, Drew Gooden, and Nene Hilario.
The lack of big men on their end and the absence of Ryan Anderson for the Pels led to some very interesting lineup combinations from both sides. The Pelicans rolled out Evans, Gordon, Holiday and Ish Smith with Anthony Davis at the same time!
They were able to get away with it since the Wizards were somehow even smaller, with Dudley at center alongside Wall, Otto Porter Jr., Ramon Sessions and Gary Neal.
Despite the obscure lineup, Ish Smith was a real difference maker for the Pelicans tonight.
Dec 11, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Ish Smith (4) shoots over Washington Wizards guard Ramon Sessions (7) and guard John Wall (2) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Wizards 107-105. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The offensive system Alvin Gentry has been trying to install calls for a lot of ball movement, and for the most part the team has been unable to pull it off. However, the second Ish takes the floor there is suddenly a lot more space being created, and that effectiveness was on full display tonight.
The Pelicans were only able to dish out 21 assists over the course of the game but 7 of those came in the fourth quarter alone, and a lot of the credit for that goes right to Smith.
Since Norris Cole’s return to the court, Smith’s minutes have taken a sizable hit. Cole has not been as effective off the bench as we was last year though, and it would be no surprise if Smith slowly started to steal some more time on the court.
Smith’s production has proved me wrong this season, and I am happy to say that. What I really admire most about him though is how much fun he is having out on the court.
I was watching tonight’s game with a friend of mine. When the game ended, he pointed out Ish and said, “Man, that guy Smith is having the time of his life. He is the happiest guy out there.”
And he was not wrong. Ish is having the time of his life while also playing the best basketball of his career. Hopefully he can keep it up, because the Pelicans really need it.
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Anthony Davis had a fairly quiet night by his standards. He scored 18 points on 8-15 shooting and collected 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. It was also just the second full game he has played in which he did not record a block.
There were definitely stretches during the game where the offense was stalling, and the Pelicans needed to do a better job of getting the ball into Davis’ hands.
Pelicans TV announcers Joel Meyers and David Wesley were preaching just that for quite some time in the third quarter before Davis was finally able to get a shot to go.
They got bailed out a bit tonight by the three ball, but the Pelicans need to know how to get Davis involved when things are not going well, especially when he is matched up against a much smaller forward like Jared Dudley.
The end of the game was as close as it could get. With 43 seconds left the Pelicans had a 104-103 lead and possession, which resulted in a missed Tyreke Evans layup.
The Wizards corralled the miss, and John Wall missed a jumper from the elbow out of the timeout. A hectic battle for the rebound ensued, and Eric Gordon came out with possession.
Dec 11, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; referee Gary Zielinski (59) calls for a jump ball after a scramble for the ball between New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) and guard Jrue Holiday (11) and Washington Wizards guard Jared Dudley (1) and guard Garrett Temple (17) during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Wizards 107-105. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
With 18 seconds left, he knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Pelicans up 106-103.
Coming out of the next timeout, Wall got to the rim quickly for an easy layup to cut the lead back to one. The Pelicans called timeout to advance the ball to half court, where they got the ball into Jrue Holiday.
However, instead of just getting fouled, Holiday tried to sneak the ball into Anthony Davis. The pass was deflected and the bodies of Holiday and Dudley hit the ground fighting for possession, resulting in a jump ball.
Holiday was able to out-jump the veteran Dudley despite at least a four inch disadvantage, which resulted in Tyreke Evans going to the line.
Naturally, Evans missed the first and hit the second, leaving the window open for the Wizards to steal the game with a final shot.
The last possession was defended beautifully by the Pelicans, as Gary Neal missed a mid ranged shot as time expired, giving New Orleans the 107-105 win.
The Pelicans hope to win again tonight against the Chicago Bulls, at the United Center in downtown Chicago. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CST…..