It wasn’t an impressive first 36 minutes from New Orleans, it trailed by Portland by 10 heading into the fourth.
It was an impressive final 12 minutes from the Pelicans as they fought back, giving themselves a chance to win in the final seconds. With the game tied, the Pelicans put the ball in Brandon Ingram’s hands, got him switched onto a smaller defender in Anfernee Simons, and it still wasn’t pretty — he shot it on the way down — but all that matters is the results.
Portland had one more chance, it got the ball to Simons in the backcourt and let him pick up a head of steam going to the rim, but Herb Jones defended took away an easy lane and that gave Zion Williamson an angle to make the game-saving block.
The Pelicans are now 2-0 to start the season, despite injuries to Trey Murphy III (hamstring) and Dejounte Murray (hand surgery). It may not all have been pretty, but their stars were making plays when it mattered, and that’s all that mattered.
