Unexpected heroes emerged as the New Orleans Pelicans rode a second-half surge in their 126-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The New Orleans Pelicans bounced back from their ugly loss on Friday by cruising past the Philadelphia 76ers for a 126-111 win on Saturday night.
With the win, the Pelicans improved to 16-42 and now have the fourth-worst record in the league. It's important for anyone hoping to see the pick that gets conveyed to the Atlanta Hawks
This was always going to be an interesting game, but it turned out to be in a positive way. Social media went ablaze heading up to the tipoff as it was announced that DeAndre Jordan would be starting at center.
Jordan, 37, played in just two games before this one this year. Not because of injury or anything, that's just his role. He is more of a player-coach than anything.
It's impressive, after not having played since October, that he was ready to play in this game and that he ended up playing 32 minutes in this game. He played great, too, finishing with six points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. New Orleans was +13 with him on the court.
He's not the only unexpected Pelicans player who helped them win this game. Jordan Poole provided 23 points, three rebounds and five assists with no turnovers off the bench.
With the 76ers not having Joel Embiid for this game, the importance of Zion Williams taking over this game only increased. He answered the call with a team-high +24 with 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
James Borrego showcased a couple of reasons that he could earn the full-time job after this season. It's been clear that the team wants to play for him with how much effort they've given this year despite all the losing.
Now it's showing that the bench players are bought in and staying ready for whenever their next opportunity comes.
New Orleans had their ugly loss on Friday and then was sent to the locker rooms down by eight points. They came out in the second half and outscored Philadelphia 69-46 in the final two frames.
Borrego experimented with a weird lineup and new rotation, and it worked out. These are the types of things the front office could be looking at when making their decision on the next coach.
The Pelicans have one more home game on Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors before they begin a six-game West Coast road trip, which will begin against the Utah Jazz.