The New Orleans Pelicans turned it up a notch in the second half on Friday and blew out the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time this season, winning 139-111.
The Good: Third quarter
After struggling to put the Grizzlies away in the first half, the Pelicans put together a stellar third period to put this game away. New Orleans turned a 66-59 halftime lead into a 110-86 advantage after outscoring Memphis 44-27 out of the half.
Most impressively, after a sloppy first half, the Pelicans didn’t commit a turnover in the third period.
Honorable mentions: Zion Williamson catching lobs, playoff chances, shooting percentages, attacking Jonas Valanciunas out of ball screens
The Bad: First-half turnovers
The only reason the game was close in the first half was due to so many turnovers by the Pelicans. It’s long, long been the Achilles heel for the Pelicans and when it happens, it derails the offense.
Likewise, when it doesn’t happen, the Pelicans can put together third quarters and seconds halves like the one on Friday where they can make a current playoff team in the Western Conference look pedestrian at times, even if they were short-handed.
The Ball: Red-hot three-point shooting
Lonzo Ball had struggled with his jumper in recent games, going just 3-of-16 from beyond the arc in the previous two games entering Friday. But he had one of his best shooting performances of the season from range against the Grizzlies, going 5-of-7 from three to finish with 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
The five three-pointers are the second-most he’s had on the season behind only his seven three-pointers against Houston in late December. And while he found Williamson multiple times for lobs on the night, his six turnovers were tied for the second-most he’s had on the year as the lone ugly part of his outing.
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