The New Orleans Pelicans' 123-120 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night looked eerily similar to many of their losses last season.
New Orleans found itself in a clutch game situation, and as last season, it couldn't overcome poor defense and questionable offensive decisions to close out the game. Pacers forward Pascal Siakam finished with a game-high 30 points, including eight straight points in the last four minutes of the game to close out the Pelicans in both teams’ season openers.
The Pelicans started slowly, falling behind 38-31 in the first quarter as Indiana shot 59% from the field. New Orleans responded with a strong second quarter, including 12-0 and 9-0 runs, to outscore the Pacers 35-18 and take a 10-point halftime lead. Zion Williamson’s back-to-back three-pointers to end the half electrified the crowd and built significant momentum for New Orleans heading into the half.
Indiana then attacked in the second half, scoring 67 points and dominating the paint against the undersized Pelicans. The Pacers outscored New Orleans 64-48 in the restricted area, putting the Pelicans in foul trouble early in the fourth quarter. Over three quarters, the Pacers shot 14 free throws and forced the Pelicans' fifth team foul with nearly nine minutes left, and they attempted 15 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.
Still, New Orleans had chances late in the game, including two chances to tie at the end, but the combination of Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton proved too much for the Pelicans. Haliburton scored 16 of his 23 points in the period, showing why stars make the difference in winning or losing in the NBA. Meanwhile, the combination of Williamson and Dejounte Murray, the Pelicans' leading scorers on Wednesday, combined for 10 points, while Haliburton and Siakam combined for 25 in the fourth.
What went wrong for Pelicans in season opener vs. Pacers
Pelicans center Yves Missi had a strong night, scoring 13 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots. Head coach Jamahl Mosley called his performance “incredible” in the post-game presser, but curiously, backup forward Karlo Matkovic didn’t see the court Wednesday night. On a night when the Pelicans shot 33% from beyond the arc on 30 attempts, a floor-spacer like Matkovic could have helped space the floor better for New Orleans.
Mosley’s rotations are clearly still a work in progress, with Jeremiah Fears starting alongside Murray in the backcourt. Fears picked up 3 quick fouls in the first quarter and had to sit out for the rest of the half. Guard Jordan Poole struggled mightily, scoring just 4 points on 0/4 shooting from the field in a team-low 15 minutes.
In the end, the same issues that plagued New Orleans last season reared their ugly head on Wednesday night. The team isn’t a great shooting team and struggles to defend the paint. They did little to address either need this offseason, leaving them to compensate with near-flawless offensive execution or by getting steals to create easy transition baskets.
The Pelicans forced 11 steals Wednesday, a stat they excelled at during the preseason, but they turned the ball over 15 times and lost the fast-break edge to the Pacers, 27-10. New Orleans shot just 43% from the field, but 34 free-throw makes kept them in the game throughout the night. They were +3 from beyond the arc, but were -16 in paint point differential.
Indiana won despite playing without Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell, while the Pelicans listed no player on their injury report for the first time in a season opener in several years.
Moving forward, the Pelicans must find better ways to stay consistent in the second half and close out games. The team was 12-30 in clutch games last season and start this year 0-1 in that category. Their next chance to do so comes on the road Friday night when they travel to Utah to play the Jazz.
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