After losing to the Hornets on the road, the Pelicans, who are tenth in the West, returned home to challenge the fifth-place Bulls in the East.
For the Pelicans, Nance Jr. made his debut, and CJ McCollum + Varan are also poised to win in front of the home fans.
On the other hand, on the Bulls side, DeRozan is out of the team due to injury, and whether the Bulls can withstand the pressure in this campaign, Lavin + Vucevic undoubtedly needs to come forward!
However, after four quarters of play, with the excellent performance of CJ McCollum + Graham, the Pelicans, who played at home, completely suppressed the Bulls in the first half and occupied the initiative on the court.
Although after returning from the second half, Lavine + Kobe White in the third quarter went on to power and led the Bulls all the way to the score, preserving the suspense of the game.
But in the last minute of the decisive battle, Alvarado ushered in an outbreak, and Graham + Nance Jr. hit three consecutive points to help the Pelicans play a 21-9 offensive frenzy and seal the victory in one fell swoop.
In the end, the Pelicans, who were fully up, also beat the Bulls 126-109 at home, winning a 17-point victory and giving the rival Bulls a second consecutive defeat!
Playing at home in this game, the Pelicans swept away the slump of the previous game loss, played a team performance of 4 people scoring in double figures, and completed the big upset.
In the case of valam + Herbert Jones + Nance Jr., each performing their duties, the three major backcourts of 70 + 17 CJ McCollum + Graham + Alvarado played, which is particularly critical!
CJ McCollum remained solid in this game, starting 33 minutes and delivering an all-around performance of 25 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal on 10-of-20 shooting.
Among them, his heroic performance of cutting 10 points in the first quarter not only helped the Pelicans open the situation smoothly, but also set the tone of the game by example!
In addition, although the performance in the last game was not good, the play of Graham in this game also played a crucial role.
In this campaign, Graham was full of firepower, shooting nearly 70% of the 8-of-12 shooting, and the outside line shot 5 three-pointers, bombing a team-high 30 points, plus 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.
At the same time, throughout the game, Graham personally has not made a mistake, it can be said that with a very efficient personal performance, successfully disrupted the Bulls' defensive rhythm and plan!
Of course, the Pelicans were able to beat the Bulls in this game, and the performance of the demon guard Alvarado on the bench was also a great achievement.
In this game, Alvarado was appointed to play 28 minutes off the bench, contributing 15 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists and 3 steals on 5-of-10 shooting, and there was no personal error.
And his key play of scoring 13 points in the final quarter, inside and outside the single quarter, not only led the Pelicans to open up the point difference, but also almost single-handedly ended the Bulls' attempt to fight back!
More importantly, after the victory over the Bulls in this game, the Pelicans also surpassed the Lakers again with a regular season record of 31 wins and 42 losses, rising to ninth in the West.
Considering the recent position of the ninth place in the West, which has changed hands many times, it has to be said that the ninth battle between the Pelicans and the Lakers is indeed still unknown!
On the other hand, the Bulls side, the team collapsed in the final quarter of this game, and finally swallowed a 17-point rout + 2 consecutive defeats, which obviously needs to be examined.
But for the Bulls, this game, the team is not completely without highlights and gains.
After all, in the case of the main forces such as Vucevic + Caruso, continuing to perform steadily, the play of Lavin + Kobe White in this campaign is indeed remarkable!
In this game, LaVine ushered in an outbreak, not only bombing a game-high 39 points, but also handing over 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
And against the Pelicans, Kobe White also played well, shooting 5 three-pointers in the whole game, contributing to a 23+3+6+1 outstanding performance, which is the key to the Bulls being able to keep biting the score!
Only in the absence of DeRozan, facing the Pelicans, who had worked hard for a whole but did not return, seemed to have no choice but to accept the reality of 2 consecutive defeats.