In the NBA, no lead is safe. And on Jan. 4, the New Orleans Pelicans found that out the hard way.
The Pelicans dropped a 118-116 overtime decision to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Any loss is bad, but this one was particularly gut-wrenching.
New Orleans outplayed Indiana for the majority of the night, leading the club to a 10-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the contest. From there, however, things got ugly.
The team would combine to miss its last five shots from the field in regulation. After closing the gap to just three points, Victor Oladipo forced Lonzo Ball into a turnover that the Pacers were able to use to get the equalizer — a 26-foot three-point bomb from Myles Turner that knotted the contest, 106-106.
Brandon Ingram’s buzzer-beater couldn’t find the bottom of the net, and the game went to overtime.
There, the teams battled back-and-forth with Ball tying the game with just over 25 seconds remaining in the period. On the game’s fateful possession, however, with just over three seconds remaining, Malcolm Brogdon connected on a running 12-footer to give the Pacers the decisive 118-116 cushion.
With on timeouts remaining, a full-court pass from Ball to Zion Williamson caromed out of bounds as time expired.