New Orleans — The Pelicans suffered their first loss in a month on Friday, falling to the Wizards 116-97. That defeat put an end to their franchise record-tying win-streak of 10 games.
Both teams struggled from beyond the arc early, with neither team making a three-pointer until about 3 minutes before the half, when Kelly Oubre, Jr. knocked one down. At the break, the Pelicans were 0-10 from three and the Wizards were just 2-11.
The Pelicans definitely struggled without Davis, who was out with a sprained ankle. They not only missed him from an offensive production and flow-of-game standpoint– but they also missed him on the boards. New Orleans was out-rebounded 49-38 and only had 4 second chance points on 2 offensive rebounds.
“Yeah, it hurts,” said Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday. “But we have a team full of people that step-up to the plate. Tonight it didn’t happen very much. I saw some guys play very, very well down the stretch, but again, we can’t always rely on Anthony.”
“You take out one of the best players in the game– not just the best player on your team– one of the 3 or 4 best players in the NBA, and obviously it’s going to have an effect on your team,” said Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry. “But that being said, we still have to play with a flow and understand the execution of what we have to do. If you miss shots, you miss shots, but we’ve just got to make sure that we’re getting into our offense where we’re getting good shots.”
“We’re fine,” said Pelicans forward Nikola Mirotic. “First of all because we knew we didn’t play with AD, which is our best player. Hopefully he’ll be back next one but we just need to stick together.”
Darius Miller led all scorers with 20 points, going 6-11 from the floor. Cheick Diallo added 14 points, 9 rebounds for the Pels, while DeAndre Liggins had a season-high 10 points. Otto Porter, Jr. led the Wizards with 19 and was one of 6 Washington players in double figures.
With the win, the Wizards (38-28) get the season sweep over the Pels and have now won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two teams, including the last 5. The Pelicans (38-27) continue this 3-game home-stand Sunday when they host the Jazz at 3:00 p.m. The Pels are (1-2) against Utah this season.