The New Orleans Pelicans are awake again after breaking their losing streak. What looked like an early blowout loss to the Orlando Magic ended up being a pretty fun game. The Magic still won in the end, 128-118, but it was more competitive than a lot of recent Pelicans games.
It was the final stretch of the game that did New Orleans in. The lack of a true closer has come back to bite the Pelicans once again. Zion Williamson did what he could, but he still can't attack from anywhere but at the rim.
Rookies Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears both had some mistakes late that showed their youth. It's something that can come with time, but New Orleans will need to remain patient with their youngsters.
The Pelicans were outscored 37-20 in the final quarter of this loss, which erased the good work the team had done over the first few frames.
Williamson led New Orleans with 22 points on 9-of-14 from the field. He had three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block to go with that scoring.
Trey Murphy was right behind him with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Murphy's three-point shooting started slow and picked up in the second half, but they couldn't find him for one down the stretch when Orlando started to pull ahead.
This was a waste of a good Jordan Poole game, which is never great. Poole finished with 21 points in 23 minutes off the bench. He was 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, really feeling his shot in this game.
The loss of Herb Jones was really felt in this game, as it could have looked a lot different had he been able to play in the starting lineup. Bryce McGowens, who filled his role, finished with a team-worst -22 in this game.
McGowens has had a good year. He has been a surprising role player find and is certainly deserving of minutes. It's becoming clear, though, that he should not be relied on for starter minutes right now.
The Pelicans defense didn't really have an answer for Desmond Bane or Anthony Black, who had 27 and 26 points respectively. Black was 9-of-10 from the field with three threes, adding five rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
New Orleans will return home on Tuesday against the down-trodden Denver Nuggets, who have felt the loss of Nikola Jokic.