The New Orleans Pelicans played the Denver Nuggets last night and it always seems to come down to the wire between these two teams. The final score in Denver was 113-105, but it was a back and forth battle all night long.
This was a huge win for the Pels, placing them just one game back from the play-in tournament.
Every time you think this team is done, they always sneak right back into playoff contention.
The Pelicans were led by Brandon Ingram dishing out a career-high 12 assists and rookie Herb Jones capping off an 18 point 4th quarter.
Herbert Jones' 18-point 4th quarter powers the @PelicansNBA to victory! pic.twitter.com/Pg34z5w0Ub
— NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2022
Herb Jones has been playing excellent as of late. He doesn’t always fill up the scoring column, but last night he sure did. He finished with 25 points. The rookie completely took over in the fourth, playing lockdown D, deflecting passes left and right, and was unstoppable when he had the ball in transition. His speed with the ball was extremely impressive and he looked really confident when driving in to score. Willie Green had this to say about Herb after the game:
“Herb just continues to get better,” Willie Green said. “He puts the work in in practice. He’s a willing learner. We’re just seeing all of his hard work on display and we saw it tonight on both ends of the floor.”
Herb continues to be the steal of the draft for the Pelicans. He has truly become a fan favorite in NOLA.
Jaxson Hayes had one of the best games of his career, finishing with 22/11 and he did not miss a single shot. 9/9. Ever since Willie Green has opted to run more bigball lineups that place Jaxson at the 4 spot and JV at the 5, it has worked out well for him. In his past 6 games, he’s averaged around 14 PPG and 7 RPG.
Here’s something I have never seen from Jaxson… usually he is scatterbrained when handling the ball, but here he smoothly grabbed the rebound, took it down the court with a few dribbles, and made a great pass to his fellow big man Jonas Valunciunas. 7 footer to 7 footer in transition – you don’t see that very often.
JV slams it home 😤 Pels up with under 5 to play@PelicansNBA | #WBD pic.twitter.com/5LAlNqVdcP
— Bally Sports New Orleans (@BallySportsNO) February 5, 2022
“Jaxson was phenomenal tonight,“ Green said, “He didn’t miss a shot. So number one, that was great for us. But he executed on both ends of the floor. He guarded Jokic late in the game and gave us a different look with JV in foul trouble. I thought his energy was great. He’s given us a huge boost, a huge lift.
Brandon Ingram showed his leadership in Denver last night. He took over as the floor general and always made the right play. He finished the game with only 1 turnover. He hit a couple of big fadeaway midranges late, but becoming that leader and playmaker is what was the key for the Pels because it heightened the play and the energy of the team as a whole.
The Pelicans have struggled a lot this season with finishing off games, so this was a beautiful one to witness.
The New Orleans Pelicans handed the Nuggets their third straight loss while they are coming off back-to-back road wins.
Brian Windhorst recently reported that the Pelicans are in talks in trading for DeAaron Fox or possibly CJ Mccollum, but with how this team is starting to come together it will be interesting to see if a deal follows through.
This team would take a huge step up trading for either of those guys and they should 100% try and make a deal if it doesn’t involve Zion, Ingram, or JV.
The trade deadline is 5 days away.
The Pelicans look to continue their win streak vs the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
