The New Orleans Pelicans (34-26) finally look like a team that is bought in. Their performance in the first half seemed to signal that their five-game win streak would be snapped on Monday by the Phoenix Suns (18-44).
However, Anthony Davis put up another MVP-worthy performance to get the Pelicans to their sixth straight win by the score of 125-116.
After New Orleans took an early lead, the Suns responded back with a 9-3 run to give them a five-point lead. Devin Booker helped extend Phoenix’s lead with a pair of layups late to put them up by double digits.
It was more of the same early on the in the second quarter, with the Suns getting out to as much as a 15 point lead with 8:44 left until halftime. However, the Pelicans started to fight back late and brought the deficit down to seven points as both squads headed into the locker room.
The Pelicans took that strong finish in the first half and ran with it, exchanging the lead with the Suns throughout. It wasn’t until they went on an 11-2 run late in the third quarter that the Pelicans truly established a lead thanks to some solid shooting from beyond the arc by Nikola Mirotic and Ian Clark.
The Suns were able to make it interesting late in the fourth, getting the lead down to two points with five minutes left in regulation. However, Davis was able to put the final nail in the coffin with a tip-in dunk with 1:23 left.
The Pelicans will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to San Antoino to take on the Spurs (36-25) with tipoff set for 7:30 pm.
-Clint Domingue