New Orleans– The Pelicans came out on the losing end of their first game without DeMarcus Cousins, seeing a 21-point lead slip away after another ice cold third quarter. They scored just 4 points in the first 6:30 of the second half, and were 1-11 from beyond the arc in the third.
“We didn’t make shots to start the quarter and we let it affect our aggressiveness defensively,” said Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry. “We have to get past that. Especially in the first quarter, I thought we were real active defensively and we were able to run out and get some easy baskets. Our ball movement was great. Then in the third quarter, we missed some easy shots.”
“I think the third quarters were like that even with DeMarcus,” said Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday. “I think we got good shots– especially today– we got a lot of good, wide open shots– the ones that we want. But I think they were all short. That’s why I think our legs were a little sluggish.”
“A lot of our offensive fire-power is gone as you know,” said Pelicans small forward Darius Miller. “But I think it’s just some adjustments that we have to do, that we have to make going forward. We struggled to score at times but we normally make a lot of the shots we missed tonight.”
A bright spot in the loss was Anthony Davis becoming the Pelicans all-time leading rebounder, passing David West. With his 17 rebounds Sunday night, he now holds the record with 3,857. AD is also now just 44 points away from passing West’s all-time scoring record (8,690). Davis finished with his 26th double-double of the season with 25 points to go along with those 17 rebounds. Holiday added 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, while E’Twaun Moore dropped 18.
The Pelicans (27-22) return to action Tuesday when they host the Sacramento Kings for their third meeting of the season.