Pelicans vs. Jazz Recap: The good, the bad and the Lonzo Ball (Jan. 21)
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After flying out of the gates strong on Thursday, the Pelicans fell flat in the second half once again and lost to Utah for a second-straight game, 129-118.
New Orleans blazed out of the gates, scoring 43 points in the first quarter and knocking down every shot. But they followed that up by giving up 39 points to Utah in the second period and trailing at the half. Add in another miserable third quarter and the Jazz won going away for the second time in three nights.
Zion Williamson had 27 points, Brandon Ingram added 23 and Lonzo Ball added 14 in the loss. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 36 points for Utah.
The Good: The offense
After a lackluster performance on Tuesday offensively, the Pelicans exploded, particularly in the first half. New Orleans hit more 3-pointers in the first quarter (8) than they did in the entirety of Tuesday's loss (6). Five players reached double figures after only two did so on Tuesday. The 118 points were just the second time in the last eight games that had reached that point total. Overall, the Pelicans shot 49.4% from the field and 44.0% from three on 25 attempts. All of that was great but unfortunately, the game is played on two ends.... Honorable mentions: Brandon Ingram's first quarter
The Bad: The defense
...And on the defensive end, the Pelicans were abysmal. After giving up 118 points on Tuesday, New Orleans allowed 129 on Thursday. Every positive the Pelicans had offensively, Utah one-upped them. They hit 17 3-pointers, shot 43.6% from range and 50.0% overall. It was Donovan Mitchell that torched New Orleans on Thursday as he dropped 36 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 11-of-19 shooting overall and 6-of-8 shooting from deep. Mike Conley (20) and Jordan Clarkson (19) both had big nights against a Pelicans backcourt anchored by above-average defenders in Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball.
The Lonzo Ball: Energetic bounce back
After a dud of a performance on Tuesday was followed by a far more active one on Thursday. Ball finished with 14 points and five assists, four of those coming in the first half, in 27 minutes. He shot 6-of-15 from the field and 2-of-6 from range. While it was a much more active version of Ball, it was one that was still overthinking too many times on the court. Despite having his jumper working early in the night, Ball was tentative from range and turned down open looks.
