Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson were able to enjoy the show from the bench. The first is still injured while the second, who came out of his Covid isolation well, did not finally put on his shorts for this meeting. The absence of the team’s two leading scorers did not prevent NOLA from signing a nice collective demonstration against the Pacers who were overwhelmed all along (113-93).
The visitors, authors of the best start, only really existed for a quarter (24-18). They lost their footing in the second quarter when their attack struggled to punish and their defense struggled even more to contain the passing game opposite. Result at the break, the Pelicans had nearly 20 points ahead (57-38).
The following ? Not much to say except that the locals continued to unfold their basketball, to have a 28-point lead after the next twelve minutes (90-62). Players lacking game time on both sides were able to take advantage of a long “garbage time” to show themselves. And Indiana was able to narrow the gap a little bit.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A few minutes were enough. We could almost sum up this match to a big “run”. That of the Pelicans at the start of the second quarter. The locals shone in two aspects that automatically bring good things: a serious collective defense and a contagious desire to share the leather. Indiana remained without a solution in the face of the permanent aids opposite, like Kira Lewis Jr. who came to challenge the Myles Turner circle, who imagined himself finishing easily. On the other side of the field, Devonte’ Graham did a lot of good with his bindings, which Willy Hernangomez and Naji Marshall took full advantage of. Thus the score went from 27-23 to 43-23, a 16-0. These 20 points difference will not be questioned later.
– Willie Green salutes his defense. For the 5th time this season the Pelicans limit their opponents under 100 points registered, while the Pacers have missed this bar for the 3rd time only. ” As soon as I arrived here, I talked about working on building a defensive base because it’s durable. Our attack can come and go. We didn’t shoot well tonight (note: 46% all the same), but we defended and made ‘stops’. So far we have done a good job in this area “, can thus greet Willie Green.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Naji Marshall. Very nice evening for the winger, now used to shine when he is propelled holder. That night, he took advantage of the absences of Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III to afford a career high with 22 points. Symbol of his success, his 3-point shot sent on one foot at the buzzer of the third quarter.
✅ The Pelicans Racket. Awkward at 3-points, Jonas Valanciunas still finished with the best evaluation of his team and a new double-double. We will particularly remember his dribble in the back, baseline, to eliminate Myles Turner in the third quarter. Symbol of NOLA’s interior dominance, which finished with 18 more rebounds than the Pacers. Alongside “JV”, Jaxson Hayes once again came close to double-double while Larry Nance Jr. and Willie Hernangomez both had a very positive impact on the scoreline.
⛔ Pacers mindset. It’s hard to blame one player more than another so you might as well stop at the big picture. The Pacers certainly arrived at the end of a small “road trip” of three meetings but like the Pelicans, they had not played for three days. Rick Carlisle may have changed all of his five, at the heart of the fatal “run” conceded in the second quarter, his players did not respond. The craziest thing is that the latter were never able to scare the representatives of New Orleans in the second half, where the gap fell back below 20 points, to -19 precisely, only two occasions.
THE FOLLOWING
Pelicans (21-12) : reception of Wolves, Wednesday.
Pacers (17-17) : reception of the Hawks, the next night.
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