Pelicans defend in fourth quarter before stars finish off Cavs, 116-109

The stage was set for the New Orleans Pelicans to win Sunday night at Cleveland.

The Cavaliers came into the game as the lowest scoring team in the NBA and they were missing players.

Additionally, Cleveland was on the second game of back-to-back games and the Pelicans were not.

For three quarters, it looked like the Pelicans were the team that played on Saturday as the Cavaliers were the team playing with energy.

Then came the fourth quarter.

Then came more intensity on defense.

Then came a needed victory.

The Pelicans came away with a 116-109 win.

In the final quarter, New Orleans outscored the Cavaliers 26-15 to get the win.

For the longest time, it looked like the Jekyll and Hyde Pelicans we have been accustomed to seeing all season.

New Orleans won a huge game over an elite opponent in Philadelphia on Friday night. Against a poor opponent, the Pelicans appeared ready to fall short, a pattern we have seen frequently this season.

Not this time.

New Orleans trailed by 10 points at 39-29 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pelicans cut the deficit to two points late in the first half but Cleveland lengthened the lead to nine points.

Then, Jaxson Hayes threw in a 50 foot shot from the backcourt at the buzzer, banking it in to pull New Orleans to within 68-62 at the break.

The Pelicans were plagued by 11 turnovers in the first half.

New Orleans shot 57.9 percent from the field (23-of-39) and still trailed by six at the break.

Zion Williamson was marvelous, scoring 25 points with four rebounds, three assists and a block.

Cleveland shot 54.3 percent from the field (26-of-47).

The Cavaliers led 94-90 after three quarters.

Keep in mind that the Pelicans held a much better Philadelphia team to 94 points total just a couple of nights before.

Then came the defensive intensity. Then came a win.

Naji Marshall had a career high 15 points for New Orleans and is looking more and more like a keeper. Marshall also had seven rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes. Marshall plays with great energy all the time, much like Josh Hart, whose energy the Pelicans miss clearly. Stan Van Gundy said Marshall was likely the team’s Most Valuable Player.

Brandon Ingram had 27 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

In the second half, Cleveland built a wall to stop Williamson, double teaming him, sometimes triple teaming him while not respecting wing shooters.

For a while, it worked.

Williamson was held to 13 points in the second half but when the game mattered, Zion came up huge.

So did Ingram.

With the game on the line, New Orleans played through its stars and it paid off.

In the final 2:33 of the game, Williamson and Ingram scored the final 10 points for New Orleans.

Williamson finished with 38 points on 16-of-22 shooting with nine rebounds and four assists and two blocks.

Ingram put the Pelicans ahead to stay 108-107 on a 16-foot jumper with 2:33 to play. New Orleans only allowed two points the rest of the way.

New Orleans shot 51.2 percent from the field (44-of-86) despite shooting just 29.2 percent from 3-point range (7-of-24). Eric Bledsoe was dreadful, making just 2-of-9 field goal attempts and just 1-of-8 from the field.

The Pelicans crushed the Cavaliers 50-36 on the boards and outscored Cleveland 21-14 at the free throw line, where the Pelicans were a solid 21-of-26 (80.8%). The Pelicans battered the Cavaliers in the paint, outscoring Cleveland 70-48.

The Pelicans held the Cavaliers to 15-of-38 shooting (39%) from the field in the second half.

Somebody named Dean Wade set a career high 21 points for the Cavaliers. Of course, Cleveland fans and reporters are probably saying the same about Marshall.

It was the sixth straight win for the Pelicans over the Cavaliers.

New Orleans has been respectable at home at 15-13. The Pelicans have been poor on the road.

Now, the Pelicans are 9-16 on the road and still have 11 more road games to play.

Putting the game in perspective, both teams were missing players. Neither team was all that good overall. Somebody had to win.

When needed, the Pelicans came through in all phases to get the win on a night where they did not play hard enough or focused enough, according to Van Gundy.

The Pelicans travel home and have to play the second of a back-to-back against Sacramento Monday night in another must-win game against a team New Orleans is battling with for position in the Western Conference playoff chase.