The motif for the New Orleans Pelicans (16-16) as of late had been consistently inconsistent to say the least. This stretch run for the Pelicans is extremely important with several of their next opponents are well below .500. Friday night was a breath of fresh air as they put together a complete game en route to a 111-97 victory over the Orlando Magic.
The Pelicans started out strong, getting out to a 12-4 lead with 7:21 left in the first. The Magic were able to make it a three-point deficit in about two minutes, but that was as close as they got with New Orleans making it a double-digit lead after one quarter of play.
It was all Pelicans for most the first quarter, getting out to as much as an 18 point lead. However, former Louisiana Ragin Cajun Elfrid Payton helped the Magic chip away at the lead late to make it 60-50 at the break.
Both teams were trading baskets for much of the third quarter, but the Pelicans went out to a 10-4 run late to make it 88-72 headed into the final quarter. The door was slammed shut with 7:48 left in regulation with a three-pointer from Darius Miller to get out to a 27-point lead.
The Pelicans return to action on Saturday when they travel to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat (17-15) with tipoff set for 7 pm.
-Clint Domingue