NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – The Pelicans swept the season series against the Bucks on Tuesday with an incredibly close 85-84 victory. With every game for the rest of the season having huge playoff implications, it was important for the team to get this victory no matter how ugly it was.
The Pelicans started out red hot, scoring the first 15 points of the game and grabbing a demanding 15-0 lead in the first quarter. After leading by 11 points the team was outscored 23-10 in the second quarter and found themselves down 44-42 at halftime. Both teams struggled from the field in an all around atrocious game, the Bucks shooting 37% and the Pelicans shooting an embarrassing 34%.
Anthony Davis led all scorers with 20 points and added 11 rebounds. While Eric Gordon struggled to find his shot he found other ways to contribute to the team and dished out a team-high 7 assists. Omer Asik stayed consistent with his play with 16 points and 11 rebounds, securing his third consecutive double-double.
On the game’s final play, the Bucks were down by just one point with just over 2 seconds left on the clock. Head coach Jason Kidd drew up a beautiful play to get forward Ersan Ilyasova wide open from three, however maybe a little bit of St. Patrick’s Day luck kicked in for the Pelicans as the shot was on line but ended up bouncing everywhere but into the basket.
The Pelicans have a daunting road trip ahead of them as in the next three games they’ll face the Phoneix Suns (35-33), Golden State Warriors (53-13), and Los Angeles Clippers (42-25). The team will need to bring their A-game for the rest of the season if they want any shot at keeping a playoff spot.