DENVER – Far below the radar of many who follow the NBA, New Orleans has been playing better basketball lately. On Christmas, in front of a national TV audience, the Pelicans provided their most emphatic statement on the progress they’ve been making. New Orleans posted an upset win at Denver’s Pepsi Center, finishing a Western Conference road trip at 3-1, after the Pelicans began this season at just 2-12 in away games. It ended the Nuggets’ seven-game winning streak.
On ESPN in the final game of the holiday, New Orleans grabbed a first-quarter lead and held it for the vast majority of the West matchup. The Pelicans continued their stingier defensive play, forcing the Nuggets into a bad three-point shooting night. That’s been a staple of New Orleans keeping opponents in check much better than it did in the first 27 games.
“Great road trip. Really great,” Jrue Holiday said, after his 20-point, eight-assist, six-steal night. “There was one game there we should’ve won, we felt like (at Golden State on Friday). We are ready to go home.”
“We feel really good about it,” Derrick Favors said of the 3-1 mark. “To come on this road trip and play some good teams – lose one game – that’s showing that we are improving a lot. It gives the guys in this (locker) room a lot of confidence, as far as learning how to win. We bonded and came together really well on this road trip. When we get back home, hopefully we can stay that way, and keep trying to win games.”
New Orleans has another tough schedule stretch this weekend, hosting Indiana and Houston on consecutive nights.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Holiday sank a pull-up mid-range jumper, giving the Pelicans a 109-97 lead at 2:02, causing Denver to use a timeout. The Nuggets made a few mini-runs in the fourth quarter, but the visitors answered each time.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brandon Ingram displayed many of the reasons he’s on his way to the best season of his four-year NBA career. The forward continued to show his improvement from the three-point arc, as well as upgraded efficiency from elsewhere. Ingram drained seven three-pointers – a new career high – while totaling 31 points. He was 11/18 from the field and added seven rebounds.
“I’m keeping the same daily routine and not being hesitant on taking the shot,” said Ingram, who set an NBA record for most threes made in a Christmas game.
BY THE NUMBERS
52-41: New Orleans rebounding edge, led by 13 from Favors. Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart each pulled down nine rebounds, outhustling Denver for several caroms.
8, 13, 8: Favors near-triple-double, consisting of points, rebounds and assists, respectively. The latter was a career high. The steady NBA pivot also blocked three shots and helped limit Nikola Jokic to 8/20 shooting.
19: New Orleans turnovers, an area the Pelicans were able to overcome, despite giving up 27 points off turnovers. In a way it was another good sign that New Orleans’ defense has improved, to be able to win despite that high number.
12/37: Denver three-point shooting, which is 32.4 percent. Nuggets starters were just 5/20, with no makes by dangerous two guard Jamal Murray.
2-0: New Orleans record vs. Denver, marking arguably two of the three best Pelicans wins this season. NOLA also defeated the LA Clippers in Paul George’s season debut.
#WESTERNCONFERENCEWEDNESDAY
New Orleans was granted a franchise-record 30 national TV appearances this season, including Wednesday’s premier outing on Christmas, the Pelicans’ first Dec. 25 game in four years. Among four West teams that may be deserving of more exposure based on their starts to 2019-20, or their future potential – Dallas, Denver, Memphis and Oklahoma City – fans voted overwhelmingly for the Mavericks as the team they’d like to see more on TV. Dallas received over 70 percent of the votes on Twitter, largely due to the presence of second-year star Luka Doncic. Memphis and Denver finished second and third, respectively, with rookie Ja Morant and the Nuggets’ cast of young talent making those teams among the most fun to watch in the conference. As @Lance91667640 put it, “I’m not a fan of Dallas, but they deserve it, the way they play with and even without Doncic.”
