Even without Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers (13-13) made it a pretty competitive matchup on Sunday evening against the New Orleans Pelicans (14-13). However, the Pelicans were able to put together a strong fourth quarter to come away with a 131-124 victory.
The first quarter saw the lead change four times before the Pelicans took over late thanks to Darius Miller’s five points in the final two minutes to make it 32-26. The Sixers continued to try and make it competitive in the second quarter, but were unable to take the lead after Ian Clark nailed a three-pointer to make it 43-41. It was all Pelicans the rest of the quarter, taking an 11 point lead into the locker room thanks to 13 points from DeMarcus Cousins.
The Pelicans lead evaporated in the third quarter with the 76ers with a 14-4 run to take a 71-70. The Sixers were helped with a solid quarter from Josh Redick with 11 points and helped build a 95-87 lead.
The Pelicans weren’t about to go quietly into the night, getting back out in front with a three-pointer from Jrue Holiday with 7:26 left in regulation. The Pelicans never looked back and were helped by Holiday’s 19 points in the final 12 minutes to come away with the win.
The Pelicans have little time to celebrate as they will head to Houston to take on the Rockets (20-4) with tipoff set for 7 pm.
-Clint Domingue