A tale of two halves played out in San Francisco on Sunday evening as the Pelicans overcame a poor first half with a huge second half to win against the Warriors, 115-101.
The Good: The second half
After an abysmal first half, Jrue Holiday led a resurgent second half as the Pelicans looked like an entirely different team than the opening two periods. It was a side that resembled how New Orleans had played with Zion Williamson. The Pelicans outscored the Warriors 69-45 in the second half, overturning a deficit that peaked at 12 points early in the third period and winning in a blowout.
New Orleans could already ill afford an off-night as they’re in the thick of the playoff race. But with the Spurs losing convincingly, a win would vault them even closer to the playoffs. Holiday finished with 21 points and 12 assists in the second half alone. Nicolo Melli also showed out with a career-high six three-pointers and 20 points.
Honorable mentions: Zion Williamson, Josh Hart, playoff seeding, second half turnovers
The Bad: The first half
It’s not worth dwelling on too much considering it came in a win, but the first half was reminiscent of how the Pelicans closed the last game in Golden State. The Warriors held a double-digit lead at halftime and were simply outworking the Pelicans. Fortunately, New Orleans addressed the matter at halftime and came out revitalized.
Honorable mentions: First half turnovers, Brandon Ingram’s shooting
The Ball: Low scoring, high impact
Lonzo Ball finished with just two points on the night but had nine assists, six rebounds and four steals. He didn’t close the game but that was more because of how well Holiday and Josh Hart, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, were playing.
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