The Pelicans ended the longest win streak in the NBA by setting a franchise record for three-pointers on Monday, canning 21 long-range efforts en route to a 126-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Good: Jrue Holiday
Not for one minute on Monday did Jrue Holiday look like a player that had missed over two weeks of games. Holiday was unconscious in his return to the lineup, setting a career-high in three-pointers and amassing 36 points. He finished 7-of-10 from deep and 12-of-17 overall.
It was a dominant performance in a game the Pelicans dominated for a large portion of. Against the team with the longest winning streak in the NBA and, more importantly, a team they are chasing in the playoffs, the Pelicans took care of business to such a degree that it never felt like a close contest until the final minutes….
Honorable mentions: Nicolo Melli’s first half, Brandon Ingram’s fourth
The Bad: The close
New game, same Pelicans. This team has had a bad problem all season closing out games, though Monday was a more egregious example. With the game looking like it was well in-hand, the Grizzlies went on a huge run to cut the lead down to five points.
But Brandon Ingram continued his All-Star-worthy campaign by scoring 12 of the final 15 points in the fourth. The only basket he didn’t score was a dagger three-pointer from JJ Redick that Ingram assisted to put New Orleans back up 10 inside the final minute.
The Ball: A quiet outing
With Holiday returning to the starting lineup, Ball took more of a backseat role, particularly as a scorer. As noted, Holiday had everything going so Ball deferred, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.