Pelicans Huge 1st Quarter Powers Third-Straight Summer League Win
New Orleans, LA - The New Orleans Pelicans improved to 3-1 in the 2K24 NBA Summer League standings with an 89-83 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. New Orleans opened the game on an 18-0 run before the Hornets scored their first basket with 1:46 in the quarter.
Charlotte would score just 5 points in the opening quarter, the same number Pelicans forward E.J. Liddell had in the period. New Orleans shot 10/19 in the first period, while the Hornets went just 2/17 from the field. The Pelicans led 25-5.
Charlotte flipped the script in the second quarter, outscoring New Orleans 29-14 and trailing the Pelicans by five at the half. The team needed a spark to regain control of the game, and it came from Dereon Seabron, who scored 8 of his team-high 20 points in the period. New Orleans led by 14 heading into the fourth.
The Hornets mounted a mini-comeback, but the Pelicans held them off with Jalen Crutcher's free throws to ice the game with 13 seconds remaining. Dyson Daniels continued his strong Summer League showing with 16 points, five assists, and three rebounds. The same was not the case for rookie Jordan Hawkins.
Hawkins struggled with his shot the whole game, shooting 2/13 from the field. The rookie lost a tooth in a fourth-quarter collision with a Charlotte Hornets player. Hawkins finished with 9 points and eight rebounds.
New Orleans lived at the free throw line, attempting 32 from the stripe compared to 18 for Charlotte. Those became critical points for New Orleans, who shot poorly from the three-point line again. The Pelicans went 3/19 from deep on Thursday evening.
New Orleans is at No. 6 in the Summer League standings with a 3-1 record, along with four other squads. Brooklyn has the advantage over the others due to owning the largest point differential over opponents. Friday's scheduled games' outcomes will decide the top four seeds to make the semifinals with a chance to win the Summer League's NBA Cup. The Pelicans have never won a Summer League title.
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