BROOKLYN – In a Monday matchup of teams that enjoyed banner offseasons but have both struggled out of the gate in 2019-20, Brooklyn led for the vast majority of the night and held off New Orleans in the fourth quarter, despite a career game from Brandon Ingram. The Nets – who added Kyrie Irving to the lineup and will await Kevin Durant’s return down the road – built a 17-point halftime lead and survived some red-hot second-half shooting by New Orleans. Ingram netted the first 40-point game of NBA career, besting his previous career high of 36. The Pelicans – who are playing at least the first several weeks of this regular season without No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson – went 0-2 on an unconventional road trip that stopped in the Sooner State and the Empire State.
Although Brooklyn made two seismic additions in free agency this summer, the core of its ’19 playoff squad remains, giving the Nets an advantage they exploited at times against the Pelicans.
“I like that right now we are going through this because it will build character for us,” Jrue Holiday said of the Pelicans’ early-season struggles. “To be able to go through this is better for us (than later). This has happened before, where we started off slow, but we caught a rhythm. Hopefully we can string along (wins), but with injuries (having happened), we need to get a rhythm (with continuity).”
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
New Orleans got caught in a scramble on defense, leaving elite sharpshooter Joe Harris for an open three-pointer from the right wing, which Harris drained to give Brooklyn an eight-point lead with 52 seconds remaining. The Pelicans kept fighting back to give themselves a chance to stay in the hunt in the fourth quarter, but the Nets had an answer each time.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
For long stretches Monday, forward Ingram was by far the most positive element of the night for New Orleans. Ingram surpassed the most points he’s scored in a game as a pro with about three minutes left in regulation, canning another mid-range jumper to give him 38 points. Ingram’s 40-point eruption featured extreme efficiency, with him firing numerous high-percentage looks from mid-range and around the basket. He shot 17 of 24 from the floor. Ingram added five rebounds and five assists.
BY THE NUMBERS
4: Quarters in which Brooklyn scored at least 31 points. The Nets led 104-98 through three quarters.
48: Franchise record for points in any quarter by the Pelicans, after they rang up 48 in the third period Monday.
49.5: New Orleans shooting percentage from the field, a very solid performance, but Brooklyn shot 53.3 percent. The Nets were 33/51 on two-point shots, roughly a 65 percent rate.
#WEEKLYREVIEW
On Sunday and Monday gamedays throughout the season, we’ll be asking fans to vote for their Pelicans Player of the Week from the previous seven-day period. For a second consecutive week to open 2019-20, forward Brandon Ingram collected a majority of the votes on Twitter, this time (56 percent) beating out nominees Jahlil Okafor (runner-up at 22 percent) Josh Hart and Frank Jackson. During Week 2 matchups vs. Golden State, Denver and Oklahoma City, Ingram averaged 19.7 points, even though his Saturday appearance against the Thunder was cut short in the first half by an injury. The former Laker also shot 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range during the three games against Western Conference foes. He added averages of 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Meanwhile @TheJeffShelton was one of those who cast a vote for Okafor, writing that he picked the center because “he showed out vs. (Nikola Jokic) and that’s the reason for the only win we got.”
