The NBA regular season continues, with the Pelicans hosting the Trail Blazers. Previously, the Pelicans had a 6-5 record, ranking seventh in the West, and the Trail Blazers were 8-3, ranking third in the West. The Pelicans are very much looking forward to this season, Zion can contribute 23+7+4 per game after returning, plus McCollum and Ingram, two All-Star level players, the Pelicans Big Three have led the team to hit the top six or even the top four in the West this season, and they are also considered the biggest dark horses in the West this season before the start of the season. And the Trail Blazers, it is really eye-catching, Lillard after playing a few games of calf injury, the Blazers can maintain a very high winning rate, successively defeating the Heat, Suns and other strong opponents, it can be said that Billups' transformation of the team has achieved initial results. In today's game, Nurkic, Lillard, and Payton Jr. on the Trail Blazers side couldn't play, but they once again surprised the fans.
The Pelicans took the lead in the opening game, Ingram and Jones fired back-to-back outside shots, Hart made a layup to stop the bleeding, Varan counterattacked and scored a three-pointer, the Trail Blazers had a hard time scoring in the first quarter, and the Pelicans blossomed more under McCollum's tandem. In the middle of the period, Varan assisted Zion to make a dunk, Winslow broke through to create damage, and Zion also suffered an offensive foul. In the second half, Grant burst out and hit two three-pointers in a row, and after Ingram and Varan helped the Pelicans stop the bleeding, Grant hit a dry jumper. At the end of the quarter, McCollum led the team and Grant to maneuver, and the two teams were tied repeatedly, and after the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 27!
Back in the second quarter, Hart and Walker scored back-to-back layups, Alvarado responded with a three-pointer, and Zion took off in an elevator and continued to throw and eat the pie. Led by Zion and McCollum, Marshall also opened up a three-point touch, and the Pelicans opened up a double-digit deficit. At the critical moment, Simmons stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, Little also ate Varan alone, and Grant carried Zion to complete the difficult 2+1 and beat Zion until three fouls were substituted. In the second half, the Pelicans blossomed more, Ingram's strong attack, Jones' layup, Murphy's bottom corner three-pointer, but Simmons' three-point shot helped the Trail Blazers stop the bleeding. The Pelicans led the Trail Blazers 57-51 at halftime, with Zion and Ingram both scoring 12 points and Grant 15.
In the second half, the Trail Blazers slowly exerted their strength, Simmons and Eubanks blossomed inside and out, and opened the game with an 11-4 small climax to complete the comeback. After Jones ate the cake to stop the bleeding, Simmons hit another three-pointer, and after that, both teams fell into a scoring drought at the same time! In the second half, Hart broke the deadlock with a layup, Simmons continued to blast a three-pointer against Nance, and after McCollum and Murphy responded with three three-pointers, Little scored five straight points to stop the bleeding. Simmons made both free throws at the end of the quarter, and at the end of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers outscored the Pelicans 78-74, and Simmons scored 13 points in a single quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Zion made a 2+1, and Winslow immediately responded with a three-pointer. Grant faced Ingram, steadily pulled out from mid-range, and Little's open layup helped the Trail Blazers stop the Pelicans! After Jones scored three points to stop the bleeding in the middle, Little completed a 2+1, Zion worked in the box to create a series of kills, Winslow and Little always responded. In the decisive moment, Grant made a layup, then pulled away the single Zion, a change of direction broke through to complete the dunk, and then Grant hit another three-pointer, opening up the double-digit deficit in a wave. Since then, the Pelicans have played consecutive irons, only Zion is still scoring, but time is running out, and finally the Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers 95-106 at home, and the Trail Blazers ushered in a three-game winning streak!
Stats, on the Pelicans' side, Zion had 29 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Ingram only had 14 points and 5 rebounds, McCollum was 6-of-17 for 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Murphy had 16 points and Jones had 10 points. For the Trail Blazers, Grant had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, Hart 17 points and 7 rebounds, Winslow 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Simmons 23 points and 7 assists, and Little 15 points and 4 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers are really making a lot of money trading this summer! They got Grant's chips only 1 first round + 2 second rounds, and Grant's performance in recent years has grown into the league's top power forward, not counting this game, Grant averaged 18.4 points + 43.5% of three-point shooting per game, before the killer Sun, including today in the last 5 minutes to step up, consecutive personal strong attacks to lead the team to lock the victory, and cut down 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals of gorgeous data, Grant perfectly showed his value. On the Pelicans' side, McCollum made too many mistakes, Ingram was also unusually sluggish in the face of his good brother Hart, and only Zion was slightly stable but difficult to save the situation. After this game, the Trail Blazers surpassed the Suns and dominated the second place in the West with a 9-3 record, the West is getting more and more chaotic, before the start of the game, who would have thought that after playing for 3 weeks, it was the Jazz and Trail Blazers who were leading?