MINNEAPOLIS – New Orleans wasn’t able to accomplish everything on its checklist Sunday in terms of improving its performance in a rematch with Minnesota, but the most important item was completed – picking up a win. The Pelicans opened a critical four-game Western Conference road trip by building a first-half lead and were never seriously threatened after halftime by the Timberwolves.
Minnesota piled up 139 points in prevailing in the Crescent City on Tuesday, but this time shot poorly and had difficulty getting into any groove at either end of the floor. New Orleans received major production from its starting lineup, as well as excellent efficiency from every member of the first unit, en route to winning for the fifth time in its last seven away games.
The Pelicans moved to within four games of eighth-place Memphis (32-32) despite committing 25 turnovers that led to 30 points, an area of concern lately even in victories.
“I thought we did a fairly good job,” fifth-year head coach Alvin Gentry said of his team’s performance. “We still (allowed) too many straight-line drives to the basket (defensively). We were horrendous from an offensive standpoint as far as taking care of the basketball, 25 turnovers for 30 points. You aren’t going to win very many games doing that.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
New Orleans swished a three-pointer with three-plus minutes remaining, giving the visitors a 13-point lead. Jrue Holiday tacked on an in-between shot in the lane to put the Pelicans up a dozen near the 1:30 mark.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Holiday helped New Orleans take control of the game by contributing in a wide range of areas, perhaps best illustrated by his stat line of 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, along with a steal and a block. He was a major factor offensively in both halves, tallying 16 in the first and 21 more in the second.
“I mean he carried us all night,” fellow backcourt starter Lonzo Ball said of Holiday. “No letdown from him today. You could see from start to finish he was definitely determined to get this win. He was big for us.”
BY THE NUMBERS
5: Pelicans starters who made at least half of their shots from the field. Leading the way were Holiday at 13/20 and Zion Williamson at 9/15. Williamson scored 23 points and thrilled the Target Center crowd with a few highlight-reel dunks.
14/34: Minnesota three-point shooting in Tuesday’s win for the Timberwolves over the Pelicans.
8/33: Minnesota three-point shooting in Sunday’s loss for the Timberwolves.
#WEEKLYREVIEW
Lonzo Ball enjoyed the best week of his three-year NBA career, making him a fairly obvious choice as Pelicans Player of the Week in Week 20, earning 73 percent of votes. The point guard deposited seven three-pointers each in mid-week games vs. Minnesota and Dallas, finishing the four-game stretch at a scorching 21/36 from beyond the arc. Three-point shooting was far from Ball’s only contributions – he also had an excellent week rebounding and passing-wise.
Previous winners
Week 1-3: Brandon Ingram
Week 4: Jrue Holiday
Week 5-9: Brandon Ingram
Week 10: Derrick Favors
Week 11-12: Lonzo Ball
Week 13: Brandon Ingram
Week 14-15: Zion Williamson
Week 16: JJ Redick
Week 17&18: Zion Williamson
Week 19: Brandon Ingram
