Nets (9-33) 143, Pelicans (17-27) 114
With a virtual who’s who lineup of quality opponents coming to the Smoothie King Center next week, New Orleans hoped to post a victory Friday over a team that’s struggling more than anyone in the NBA right now. It didn’t happen. Behind some red-hot shooting, Brooklyn powered to a lead of 20-plus points in the third quarter, en route to just its second road victory of 2016-17. The Nets, who also ended an 11-game losing streak overall Friday, last won an away contest in mid-November against Phoenix.
New Orleans dropped to 1-1 on its six-game homestand, which continues Monday vs. Cleveland, then with tilts against Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Brooklyn racked up a staggering 109 points through three quarters and led by 25. The Nets entered Friday as the NBA’s second-worst offensive team, ahead of only Philadelphia, but played at an incredibly high level on this night. Brooklyn shot 58 percent from the field and made 15 of 30 three-point attempts. Oh by the way, the Nets also were a scorching 32/35 on free throws.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Anthony Davis was playing through a quad injury after he apparently bruised it, according to Pelicans TV sideline reporter Jennifer Hale, but still produced a very good stat line in less than three quarters of work. The recently-named All-Star starter finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. With the game out of reach, he didn’t play at all in the fourth period.
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
For a second straight game, Dante Cunningham was a spark offensively, notching 14 points, just as he did in the win over Orlando. Cunningham dropped in eight first-quarter points to help put New Orleans in front 32-29, but Brooklyn swung the momentum in the second period drastically with a 37-22 edge. Cunningham’s season high in scoring is 15 points.
