On April 14, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs ushered in their second game day. The San Antonio Spurs, who are expected to get back on track this season, took on the New Orleans Pelicans on the road as tenth in the West. According to the rules set by the NBA playoffs, the Spurs and Pelicans have to win two consecutive games to reach the playoffs. That is to say, in this competition, the losing side will end the season early. Competition is brutal, but it's not the joy of competitive sports.
At the beginning of the match, Popovich's two most trusted reverse eye shows disappointed the team. Murray shot 1-of-5 in the first quarter and only handed over 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, plus two fouls. Not only that, but Kelden Johnson also delivered a poor shooting percentage of 0-of-3 shooting. The Pelicans, who seized the opportunity, quickly gained a lead. Ingram scored 11 points in the first quarter and McCollum also contributed eight points to help the team score 26-22.
After taking the lead at the start, the Pelicans, who entered the second quarter, followed the trend and continued to widen the point difference between the two teams. McCollum showed his aggressiveness on the offensive end, shooting a crucial 19 points in the quarter with 100 percent shooting, leading the team to a 35-28 lead and a seven-point lead. At the end of the first half, the Pelicans are already 11 points ahead of the Spurs and clearly have a better chance of winning the game. Popovich's command ability is strong, but in the face of the starting core of the successive duds, I am afraid there is nothing to do.
Although Murray's form has picked up, sending 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in the third quarter, the Pelicans, who maintain a lead in the score, did not give them the opportunity to counterattack. Pelicans' starting center Valanciunas stepped up and sent a full statistic of 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block on 9-of-6 shooting in a single quarter to help the team once again play 31-25 and take a six-point lead. By the time it reached the crucial final-quarter showdown, the point difference between the two teams had widened to 17 points, and the Spurs had all but lost the possibility of a reversal.
But in the fourth quarter of the tiebreaker, the Spurs still showed tenacious willpower, constantly trying to chase points, and with the last 3 minutes of regular time left, they played a 16-9 score to narrow the point difference to 10 points. However, even though the Spurs did not give up lightly, the Pelicans did not give them the opportunity to continue to fight back at the final critical moment. In the end, the regular time of the fourth quarter was completed, and the Pelicans won the game with a score of 113-103. The Spurs were kicked out, ending the season early.
After winning that game, the Pelicans will next compete with the Clippers for the last playoff ticket in the West this season. Looking back on that game, the Spurs did fare badly in the first half of the game, giving their opponents too many scoring counter-attack opportunities. It is obviously not so easy to achieve a 17-point reversal in the crucial final quarter, Murray sent 16 + 9 + 5 data performance in a single game, and Kelden handed over 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, which did not effectively help the team alleviate the scoring pressure, and the two successively sent 5 of 19 and 6 of 20 shooting rates, achieving some chicken ribs.
However, on the side of the Pelicans, who won at home, McCollum once again showed his unparalleled offensive aggressiveness, delivering a game-high score of 32 points, as well as 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Not only that, Ingram also has a comprehensive stat of 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and Valanciunas with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists for livestock. The starting trio made successive threats, effectively helping the team to establish a score lead.