On April 14, Beijing time, the NBA play-offs, the Spurs lost to the Pelicans 103-113 on the road, officially eliminated, missed this year's playoffs, and the Pelicans entered the second round of the playoffs, they will decide the last playoff seat in the West with the Clippers. In this game, CJ performed well, he scored 32 points in the whole game, once scored 19 points in a single quarter, the performance was very shining, Ingram also had 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, consecutive points in key moments, excellent performance, Varan 22 points and 14 rebounds. On the Spurs side, Murray Crotch, he had only 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists on 5-of-19 shooting, and Vassell had 23 points.
The Pelicans' advantage in this game is still very obvious, they are more prepared, and there are strong points in all positions, there is Varan on the inside, CJ on the outside, and Ingram on the front, all three players have a very bright performance in this game, facing the Spurs' impact, the Pelicans are in the lead for most of the time.
In the first quarter, the Pelicans led the Spurs by 4 points, and in the second quarter, CJ ushered in an outbreak, he scored 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting in the quarter, leading the Pelicans to a single quarter net victory over the Spurs by 7 points, and at the end of the half, the Pelicans' lead came to 11 points.
Entering the second half, the Pelicans played more aggressively, Ingram scored consecutively with his personal ability, Varan also took advantage of the inside, CJ shot the feel undiminished, the team led the Spurs by 21 points at the most of this quarter, which can be said to be a clear advantage. However, in the fourth quarter, the Spurs were not going to give up, and they played a wave of 13-5 offense in a short period of time, narrowing the score gap to single digits.
In key moments, the Spurs had a three-pointer on the outside, and they narrowed the gap to six points. As the score narrowed, Ingram stepped forward, hitting a back-up jumper and then hitting a free-throw line shot, scoring consecutive points and the Pelicans widening the gap to double digits again. In the final moments, the Spurs attacked the mute, they had no players who could stand up, and the Pelicans played better and better, and the team took the initiative in the game. In the end, the Pelicans won the playoff, while the Spurs missed the playoffs for three consecutive years.
It's not easy for the Spurs to make it to the top 10 in the West and have a chance to play in the playoffs. Because at the beginning of the season, everyone thought they were going to be bad and the record wouldn't be ideal. However, under the leadership of Murray and Popovich, the traditional strong team found a sense of winning, and the overall performance of the young players was very good, and in the final moments of the season, they successfully overtook the Lakers in the ranking and won a place in the playoffs.
Personally, I think the Spurs have been good enough this season, although they have missed the playoffs for three consecutive years, but they are moving in the right direction, the team's young players are growing rapidly, and the team has established a winning culture, I believe that if the team can successfully recruit in the offseason, and young players can continue to grow, then the Spurs are not far from returning to the playoffs.
On the Pelicans side, their overall strength is still stronger, in all positions, they have absolute strength, the team is more prepared for this campaign, and the technical cooperation and hard power are also stronger than the Spurs, they won this play-off, which is also conceivable. After the defeat of the Spurs, the Pelicans are only one step away from the playoffs, they still need to play against the Clippers, in this season's Pelicans against the Clippers, the team achieved 3 wins and 1 loss, in the record has an absolute advantage, this game playoff, the Pelicans can beat the Clippers again in the playoffs, after many years to return to the playoffs, which is worth looking forward to.