Pelicans (13-26), Hornets (18-21)
Jrue Holiday dribbled patiently and scanned the floor as time ticked down in regulation, then found the best possible option available: Anthony Davis diving to the basket. Holiday’s perfect feed to Davis for an alley oop dunk with only 2 seconds left served as the premier highlight of Friday’s contest, the game-deciding basket, as well as Holiday’s 10th assist. As a result, New Orleans posted a second consecutive victory for the first time since Dec. 20 and 23, when it bested Denver and Portland. After losing several recent games in narrow fashion, this time the Pelicans prevailed in a closely-contested matchup. New Orleans heads to Memphis on Monday, then will try to capitalize on more home cooking with seven straight games in the Smoothie King Center.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Charlotte’s Nicolas Batum nearly rimmed in a desperation three-pointer from the left corner, but it skimmed out as the buzzer sounded, enabling New Orleans to walk away with a win. The sellout crowd of 16,876 rejoiced after a hard-fought victory that came down to the final minute. Holiday, Davis and Alonzo Gee all scored points in the final 1:35, allowing the Pelicans to overcome a pesky Hornets effort. Charlotte’s Kemba Walker initially tied the game at 107 with a clutch three-pointer, setting up the possession in which Davis threw down an alley oop from Holiday.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ryan Anderson was in such a zone shooting the ball that he ended the third quarter with a high-degree-of-difficulty, 24-foot off-balance stepback with a Hornets defender in his face that swished through the hoop. That bucket wasn’t much of a surprise, given how hot Anderson was Friday, finishing 12/19 from the field and 6/8 from three-point range en route to a season-best 32-point performance. He approached his career highs in both scoring (36 points) and three-point makes (8).
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
Gee was on the floor for large portions of the fourth quarter, a reward for the tenacious and aggressive way he played Friday. Gee provided boundless energy, particularly around the basket, in grabbing season-high nine rebounds (his career high is 13), including three on the offensive end. Gee registered six of his eight points in the fourth quarter, starting his scoring with two dunks early in the period.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“This is a small stretch of the season, but it’s a couple games where we played the way we need to play. It’s incredibly positive, it’s fun. We just need to continue to understand that when we play like this, we’re really good.” – Anderson on two straight wins for the Pelicans, including a 12-point win at Sacramento two days earlier
“The past couple games, we’ve been playing the way we wanted to play all year.” – Davis on the two victories
“They hurt us on the offensive glass and beat us to the 50/50 balls. You can’t be outworked and expect to win a basketball game.” – Hornets guard Walker on the Pelicans’ effort
“They’re good. If you look at their wins at home, they’ve had some great wins.” – Hornets Coach Steve Clifford on the Pelicans, who have beaten the Spurs and Cavaliers in New Orleans
BY THE NUMBERS
49.4, 48.8: Shooting percentages from the field for New Orleans and Charlotte, respectively, one of several indicators of how well-played Friday’s game was on both sides.
19: Combined turnovers for the clubs, an excellent, low total. The Pelicans only had eight turnovers, after committing just seven Wednesday at Sacramento.
14: Number of times New Orleans has made at least 10 three-pointers in a game this season, already matching the total from last season. The Pelicans still have 43 games left in 2015-16.
