In a game of teams going on runs, the New Orleans Pelicans collapsed late and ended up falling 111-106 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.
The Pelicans fought hard and even led by as much as 15, but the experience of this Cavaliers team ended up proving to be too much. Cleveland has 44 wins now and has NBA finals hopes. This New Orleans team is still finding its groove, so it was still good to see them competitive at all.
With the loss, the Pelicans fall to 25-47 on the year. This one doesn't mean too much, except for those who still have hopes of limping into the play-in, but a win would have felt great.
One of the biggest individual winners of this game for New Orleans was Yves Missi. He has looked great recently, and he was all over this game. He finished with a team-best +4, winning his minutes.
It's not always clear by only looking at the box scores sometimes, but he was all over this game. He finished with six points, 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal, three blocks and only one turnover.
Missi also has some intangible value because of how much he gets the crowd into the game with big blocks and huge dunks. He's such an impressive athlete and has clearly grown a ton this season.
This is a 21-year-old who has only been playing basketball for around six years. He could be a key piece to this team moving forward.
Herb Jones was letting the threes fly early on and ended up with a career-high 11 attempts. It was his first time in double digits. His shooting isn't always consistent, but he's a game-changer when he can hit threes along with his defense.
The biggest difference maker in this game was the boards. Cleveland out-rebounded the Pelicans 55-40. All five Cavs starters had at least five. Five total players had at least seven.