New Orleans, January 23 - The Pelicans were set off to defend their home court against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they would be doing so without Anthony Davis. Defeating the defending champs without Davis, who leads the team in points, rebounds and blocks, seemed all but impossible. Too bad for the Cavs, No one told the Pelicans that.
Terrence Jones won the opening tip and scored on a jump bank shot to give the Pelicans a 2-0 lead, one which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Jones, who averages 11 points on the season as per Basketball Reference, scored 15 of the first 19 points of the Pelicans, 17 in total for the first quarter. Cavaliers coach, Tyronn Lue said "Terrence Jones got it going early...We couldn't control him after that." when asked about his teams loss, as per ESPN. Jones tied his career high with 36 points, and also had 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Jrue Holiday would also have himself a game as the young point guard shot 12-19 from the field, including 4 three-pointers, en route to his 33 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Nine other Pelicans would contribute to the scoring and they have a season-high 70 points at the half as a team, but more importantly, a 20 point lead over the Cavs.
The Cavs, however, would not go away without a fight. Kyrie Irving would score 35 of his 49 points in the second half while LeBron James would tally a triple double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. The Cavs would ballet their way back to come within 3 with 1:32 left in the game but Langston Galloway would sink 2 freethrows and put the game out of reach with 28.3 left. The Pelicans enjoyed a 5 point lead before Kevin Love made a 3-point shot to get the final score to 124-122. Complete stats for all players from both teams on NBA.com.
The Pelicans have now won their 6th in a row against the Cavaliers at the Smoothie King Center, as per Nola.com and more importantly, improve to 18-27. They are now just 1.5 games behind the 8th place Denver Nuggets and are keeping their playoff hopes alive. The Pelicans next match will be against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder who just came off of an crucial win of their own against the Utah Jazz.
