PORTLAND – When a basketball team goes through losing stretches, invariably there are countless people lining up to second-guess a coach’s lineups or substitution patterns. Alvin Gentry actually joined the queue himself Monday, moments after the fifth-year head coach’s New Orleans club posted a 102-94 victory. Asked about the impact E’Twaun Moore made (13 points, 3/4 three-point shooting) against Portland, after the wing hadn’t played much recently, Gentry quickly responded, “That’s my fault. I know who he is and I know how he can play. I’ve got to do a better job of making sure he gets in the game.”

It’s been no easy task to determine playing time for a Pelicans team with considerable depth and not much differentiation beyond a few primary contributors, and while improving to 2-1 on a holiday-season road trip, New Orleans (8-23) used 12 different players. Though the victory was led scoring-wise by a combined 68 points from common starters Jrue Holiday (21 points), Brandon Ingram (19), JJ Redick (16) and Derrick Favors (12, along with 13 rebounds), perhaps the most encouraging takeaway was the play of a few Pelicans whose roles have been somewhat in flux. Here’s a look at some of those valuable contributions against the Trail Blazers:

E’Twaun Moore

There was no guarantee the steady guard/forward – who has seven DNPs in December – would even be part of the mix Monday, but his effective shooting led to Moore playing 24 minutes and delivering 13 key points, with 11 coming in the second half. It came as a no surprise to Gentry or Moore’s teammates.

“He’s a pro, he’s a vet, he’s always ready,” Favors said. “There have been a couple games where he hasn’t played, but he’s always in the gym, getting up extra shots. So when his number is called, he’s making big plays, a lot of big shots for us, like he did tonight.”

“When E’Twaun plays, we win,” Holiday said. “He’s somebody who knows himself, knows his game. He’s been on this team long enough to know what’s going on. He’s going to find ways to put the ball in the basket and defensively just stays solid.”

Lonzo Ball

Moved back into the starting lineup Monday, first-half foul trouble made it difficult for Ball to put his imprint on the game, but after intermission, the point guard scored all of his seven points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out two assists. He also picked up two steals, following up his five-steal outing at Golden State with another disruptive night on defense.

Kenrich Williams

Williams’ struggles shooting-wise have been greatly discussed recently, as the forward has gone through a brutal stretch, particularly at the three-point arc. But the TCU product went 2/2 at Portland, including a momentum-building corner three-pointer that brought the New Orleans sideline off the bench in celebration. Just as importantly, “Kenny Hustle” didn’t let his offensive woes affect what he normally contributes, including grabbing two possession-saving rebounds.

“We know who he is,” Gentry said of the second-year pro. “He might be struggling (shooting), but every night you put him out there, he’s going to give you the best effort you’re ever going to get from anyone.”

Favors: “He plays hard every game, whether he makes shots or not. I hope he doesn’t worry about his shots not falling, because he does so much for us on this team.”

Jaxson Hayes

The rookie was a plus-11 in his 17 minutes, but the most eye-opening stat Monday probably was his four blocks, including snuffing out a Damian Lillard right-handed drive at the rim. The Texas product also rejected Nassir Little’s dunk attempt, continuing to show improvement on that end of the floor.

“He made it hard for (Portland’s) main guards to get easy shots at the rim,” Holiday said. “They were getting in there pretty easily at first, but Jaxson adjusted and was able to learn from it. He’s very agile and I think (opponents) know how athletic he really is.”

New Orleans will seek its second three-game winning streak of the season on Christmas, when the Pelicans visit Denver (9:30 p.m. Central, Fox Sports New Orleans, ESPN). NOLA will also try to win consecutively on the road for the first time in 2019-20. Monday’s result provided one example of how New Orleans can be more consistent from game to game.

“It was a big team win for us,” Favors said. “Everyone played their part, we played hard from the beginning and stayed together when Portland went on a run.”