The James Borrego era for the New Orleans Pelicans has reached a new low on their sixth-straight loss in an unbalanced 119-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
The Pelicans drop to 8-28 and start the new year off on a down note.
New Orleans was without a ton of offense in this game as Derik Queen, Saddiq Bey and Trey Murphy all missed due to injury. This led to them having to go lineups with less shot creation than normal off the bench and it caused long stretches of not being able to do anything.
The Pelicans scored 37 points in the first quarter and 34 points in the final frame, but just 38 combined in the middle two frames. The Trail Blazers were pretty consistent all night with Deni Avdija getting whatever he wanted and Caleb Love dominating off the bench.
Zion Williamson looked good, at least. Avdija and Donovan Clingan were in foul trouble early, so he got a bunch of easy looks in the paint. He finished with a season-high 35 points to go along with eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Karlo Matkovic had one of the best games of his career, with 16 points, two steals and two blocks. He was 7-for-8 from the field with two shots from deep.
Overall, it was a game to forget for the Pelicans. They'll now travel to take on a red-hot Miami Heat on Sunday for their next matchup, making it tough to break the losing streak before it gets worse.