Pelicans (18-27), Cavaliers (30-13)
Cleveland put a trio of household names on the Smoothie King Center floor Monday, but with Anthony Davis sidelined by a right quad contusion, New Orleans had none. Unable to lean on their 23-year-old franchise player as they’ve done all season, the Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday and Terrence Jones instead played like All-Stars themselves.
Jones tied his career high with 36 points, while Holiday deposited 33 to power New Orleans to its top offensive performance of the season. The Pelicans shot 49.4 percent from the floor against the defending NBA champions, including going 16 of 39 from three-point range, equaling a season-best in three-point makes and coming one shy of tying the franchise record.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Solomon Hill rolled in the second of two free throws with 11 seconds left, followed by Cleveland misfiring on a three-pointer that kept the margin at 123-119. After Jones also went 1 of 2 at the stripe, the Cavaliers sank a trifecta with 0.9 seconds remaining, but the Pelicans inbounded quickly and ran out the final fraction of a second.
