Pelicans Scoop

Foul Pelicans Get Rocked Late By Cavaliers

The Pelicans surrendered 66 second-half points on their way to a road loss in Cleveland and a 2-3 record on their road trip.

David Grubb

Foul Pelicans Get Rocked Late By Cavaliers
Foul Pelicans Get Rocked Late By Cavaliers /
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As far as the New Orleans Pelicans are concerned, Cleveland does not, in fact, rock.

The Pels ended their five-game road trip on a sour note in the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, falling to the Cavs 113-103 on Monday afternoon.

New Orleans led at the half by four and by as many as 13 points, but were unable to keep Cleveland out of the paint or off of the foul line during the fourth quarter; getting outscored 35-22 in the period. The Cavs made 13-of-15 free throws down the stretch. 

Cleveland also scored nine points off of Pelicans mistakes in the final 12 minutes.

It was a winnable game for New Orleans, which saw its record slide to 9-13 away from the Smoothie King Center.

"(We) just ran out of gas," said Pelicans head coach Willie Green after the game. "Didn't make enough plays...Give them credit. (Cleveland) started the fourth quarter with a lot of juice...our margin for error is small so we can't allow teams to get on an 11-0 run...that's an area in the 4th quarter were we can improve."

CJ McCollum led New Orleans in scoring with 25 points, and Jonas Valanciunas added his 22nd double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds on very efficient 7-of-9 shooting.

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Trey Murphy III, Naji Marshall, and Jose Alvarado provided solid support, combining for 41 points, eight boards, and 10 assists on 53 percent shooting. 

Unfortunately, no one else provided more than six points as the offense went through its peaks and valleys.

Turnovers were a major problem for the Pelicans, as they gave the ball away 17 times, leading to 22 points for the home team. New Orleans allowed the Cavs to grab 13 offensive boards and score 19 second chance points, leaving them at -11 in that category.

The Pels are 11-13 when allowing 10 or more offensive rebounds this season.

Darius Garland scored a game-high 30 points while dishing out 11 assists to pace the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen posted a double-double as well, with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Evan Mobley added 19 points and eight boards.

One positive was the job New Orleans did defensively against Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell entered the game averaging better than 28 points per game but was held to just 11 on nine attempts Monday afternoon.

Dyson Daniels continues to make an impact defensively. He was particularly disruptive in the first half with four steals. He was the only player to finish with a positive plus-minus for the Pels.

All things considered, even though the Pelicans finished the road swing with a losing record they won the games they had to win.

And they maintained their position as the third seed in the Western Conference, a game ahead of the Sacramento Kings, while waiting for some major reinforcements to return to the lineup.

They now return home to face the Miami Heat on Wednesday Night. New Orleans and Miami meet twice over the next six days with the Heat having won four straight in the series.

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David Grubb
DAVID GRUBB

Pelicans Scoop writer and 'Hard in the Paint' Podcast host.

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