Pelicans 'Proud' After Losing Regular-Season Finale

The New Orleans Pelicans just experienced perhaps the most enjoyable 21-point home loss in franchise history in their regular-season finale.

Chris Dodson | Apr 11, 2022

Pelicans 'Proud' After Losing Regular-Season Finale /

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The New Orleans Pelicans just experienced perhaps the most enjoyable 21-point home loss in franchise history. Klay Thompson scored 41 points and the Golden State Warriors secured the third seed but this regular-season finale was all about celebrating the Pelicans. After a 1-12 start, New Orleans will be hosting an NBA Playoffs Play-In game on Wednesday.

Jordan Poole (22 pts) and Jonathan Kuminga (18 pts) helped the Warriors run out to a 41-point second quarter. New Orleans fell down by 12 after a Thompson three-pointer with just over two minutes left in the first half. The Pelicans never got the deficit back down to single digits.

The Pelicans are on a two-game losing streak but coach Willie Green was looking at the bigger picture after completing his 82nd game in charge. Green said, "More important than those games, we are proud of our group and where we are right now. The guys understand that they have worked extremely hard. They stayed together and we have a great opportunity on Wednesday against San Antonio. We are all proud of them for that."

Despite the recent losses Green explained "We are all excited for the opportunity and are excited about the journey, more importantly. Where we were and where we are right now as our group. We stayed together and stayed connected. We will start our prep work tomorrow morning by bringing our guys in, having a meeting, and going from there."

Trey Murphy III (15 points, 6 rebounds.) is appreciative of the road taken to the playoffs in his rookie season, even if he, “can't really explain it, in all honesty. This season's been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of ebbs and flows, but at the end of the day, we stay really consistent with our energy. Practices from day one to day 82 have been the same. We always have energy, always got music, and even if we were losing and 1-13, you wouldn't notice the difference from even our last 10 where we were 7-3.”

Naji Marshall (19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) said, "It's honestly a blessing. I think we are all thankful to be in this position, and I think we're prepared and ready to go…I think the same thing all year, just execute especially down the stretch when it comes to it defensively and offensively. If we do that, I feel like we can shock the world."

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Published Apr 11, 2022

CHRIS DODSON