The Pelicans challenge the Hornets
With consecutive away wins over the Spurs and Hawks, the New Orleans Pelicans finally overtook the Los Angeles Lakers and moved to the ninth place in the West. Although Ingram has not yet returned, this team is still in better shape than the Lakers. In this game, the Pelicans ushered in the final game of the three-game away game, against the Charlotte Hornets, the dark horse of the East. The Hornets experienced a brief trough after Hayward was injured, but recently, they have a four-game winning streak, just one win away from the Brooklyn Nets, eighth in the East.
Ingram's continued absence from this game is undoubtedly bad news for the Pelicans, but even so, they will not give up lightly, and the combination of McCollum and Varan has shown its power. Although the Hornets have the second-highest average of points per game in the league, it is not so easy to win this game.
The Eastern Dark Horse is back
At the beginning of the first quarter, both teams did not feel ideal, McCollum hit 2 three-pointers, 6 points and 3 assists, Varan also had 4 points and 6 rebounds, but the Pelicans only scored 22 points, while the Hornets were even worse, with only 18 points, And Ball and Rotchell combined to score 10 points. After returning from the second quarter, the Pelicans gradually regained their touch, Varan had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in the single quarter, McCollum had 4 points and 1 rebound, and the Pelicans bombed 27 points in a single quarter to continue to open up the point difference.
Thomas Jr. stepped up in the quarter, shooting 3-of-6 and 2-of-3 from three-point range to score nine points in a single quarter to help the Hornets trail the Pelicans by just six points at the end of the half, 43-49. In the second half, McCollum ushered in an outbreak, shooting 5-of-6, 15 points and 2 assists in a single quarter, Varan 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and the Pelicans blasted 35 points in a single quarter, but the point difference remained at 6 points. Ball also had 10 points and three assists in the quarter, Oubre hit two three-pointers, and the Hornets also scored 35 points in the quarter.
In the final quarter of the game, the Pelicans were in a scoring drought, McCollum only had 2 points and 1 steal on 1-of-4 shooting, Varan only had 6 points and 4 rebounds, the team only scored 19 points, and the Hornets bombed 28 points, including Rochelle 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting. In the end, the Charlotte Hornets narrowly defeated the New Orleans Pelicans at home 106-103 and successfully won five consecutive wins, which made people sigh that the dark horse in the East was back.
There's good news for the Lakers to win
5 consecutive wins, 6 people scored in double figures! Thomas Jr. broke out efficiently, and the dark horse of the East also returned. The Charlotte Hornets played the perfect team, this team hit 40 shots and gave 34 assists, which means that the Hornets only scored 6 goals in this game, which was obtained by individual ability, and the rest came from team cooperation. A young team can play such a team cooperation, it is indeed not easy. Lamelo Ball had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, Rochel had 17 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and Thomas Jr. on the bench broke out efficiently, playing 13 minutes and scoring 15 points and 1 assist on 5-of-9 shooting.
The Pelicans lost the game, with only three players on the team scoring in double figures, McCollum with 27 points and six assists, Varan with 14 points, 18 rebounds and five assists, in addition to which only Marshall on the bench had 14 points, five rebounds and one assist. It is difficult to fight with two fists and four hands, which is indeed such a truth. The Pelicans lost the game, and the Lakers just won the Cavaliers again, which means that the Lakers will regain the ninth place in the West, and they can also open a winning gap with the Pelicans, which is undoubtedly the best news for the Lakers.