The Pelicans left their comeback too late on Saturday night as a fourth-quarter rally fell short at Utah, 128-120.

The Good: The second half

After a putrid first quarter and a less awful second period, the Pelicans outscored the Jazz 66-54 in the second half. Unfortunately, it did not make up the 20-point halftime deficit.

Over the final two periods, the Pelicans hit 11 threes, shot 48 percent overall and forced 12 Jazz turnovers. Utah, though, also shot 46 percent from the field and came up with enough plays down the stretch to hold on.

Brandon Ingram and Jrue Holiday each took turners playing closer in the fouth. Ingram had 25 points in the second half and 15 in the fourth, hitting all but one of his six attempts in the final frame. Holiday had 12 in the fourth and 19 in the second half.

Honorable Mention: Ingram and Holiday, JJ Redick again, Donovan Mitchell’s poster dunk

The Bad: The first half

While it goes hand-in-hand with the previous section, the first half on Saturday was bad enough that it deserves another mention. New Orleans shot 18-for-51 from the field and let Utah hit 55.6 percent of its shots. Of the Jazz’s 25 field goals, 20 of them were assisted.

Interestingly, only Lonzo Ball had a positive plus-minus in the first, which speaking of…

Honorable Mention: Melli’s awareness for passes from Ball, did we mention the first half?

The Ball: A strong performance in an ugly game

Ball was impressive in the second half and was part of the group that made a run in the third and fourth quarters to close the deficit. Ball finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists on 5-of-15 shooting overall and 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Only two players for the Pelicans finished with a positive plus-minus in the game: Ball at a team-best +9 and Melli at +5. Frank Jackson finished at zero in just shy of 15 minutes.

It was a strong game from Ball that may force Alvin Gentry’s hand regarding the starting lineup and a potential return for Ball into it.

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