Pelicans fly even higher, crush Blazers to take 3-0 lead

You came. You saw. We conquered. #DoItBigger pic.twitter.com/66rmJ7T9IE

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 20, 2018

The New Orleans Pelicans were good to very good in Portland in a pair of huge road wins. They were beyond very good, even great for the most part Thursday night.

In front of a raucous, engaged, thoroughly entertained crowd, New Orleans dominated the Portland Trail Blazers from start to finish in a 119-102 victory at Smoothie King Center. The final score was not close to indicative of how thoroughly the Pelicans ripped the team from Rip City.

Despite playing with a tweaked ankle, Niko Mirotic was tremendous in the opening quarter. He came out on fire on both ends of the floor. He had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and one of those came on a 50 foot heave at the end of the first quarter. Mirotic added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Nikola Mirotic pours in 14 PTS in the 1st quarter!@PelicansNBA lead 36-20 after one on @NBATV #DoItBigger pic.twitter.com/8JnMsgvp63

— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2018

Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic each picked up his second foul in the first quarter. It would not matter.

Then, Anthony Davis went out with a thumb injury with 2:11 to play in the first quarter. It would not last. He returned to start the second quarter as Mirotic rested.

Going back to game two, Davis did not score for 21:13 seconds until he scored a basket on a drive with 7:06 to play in the first quarter. That would change.

New Orleans closed the first quarter on a 20-4 run to take a commanding 36-20 lead. The Pelicans went 4-for-7 from 3-point range in the quarter. New Orleans shot 65 percent in the quarter (13-for-20). New Orleans outscored Portland 11-0 on turnovers.

Portland made a bit of a run in the second quarter but the Pelicans had an answer, as they have for everything Portland has thrown at them. Mirotic finished the half with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Davis had 12 points and eight rebounds. Holiday had 12 points and four assists.

Then, there was the maestro.

Rajon Rondo had 10 points and eight assists. The coach on the floor has been more than anyone could have imagined, except, perhaps Dell Demps and Alvin Gentry. He is playing at the elite level he displayed as a championship point guard in Boston.

The Pelicans played great team basketball, making the extra pass, pushing the tempo. New Orleans had 17 assists on 24 made shots.

New Orleans scored 17 points off of 12 Portland turnovers and committed just five turnovers of their own.

UNSTOPPABLE

📺FSNO#DoItBigger pic.twitter.com/mrYLUZOWwD

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 20, 2018

Amazingly, Portland reserves did not score a point in the first half. Other than offensive rebounding, that was the only other area where the Blazers had the edge in the series.

New Orleans played fast in the half with a dominant 18-0 bulge in fast break points in the first half.

New Orleans came out sleepwalking to start the second half, standing around, stagnant on both ends. Portland scored five straight to cut the deficit to 14 points at 64-50, forcing Gentry to score an immediate timeout just 1:19 into the half.

The timeout paid off handsomely.

New Orleans picked up its defensive intensity and went on an 11-0 run to take its biggest lead at 75-50 with 7:50 to play in the third quarter.

Portland responded with an 10-0 run to make it 75-60.

It mattered not. The Pelicans responded with a 16-10 run to close the quarter to take an invincible 91-70 lead going to the fourth quarter.

The movement by Mirotic without the ball was a sight to behold. The chant of “Niko, Niko” took over in the building late in the third quarter. It was great to hear and it was totally understandable.

Gentry on @threekola’s strong play #doitBIGGER pic.twitter.com/m4sidSntIe

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 20, 2018

Davis implored the crowd to get up and get crunk. They obliged, though they did not need the encouragement.

The Pelicans continued the onslaught in the fourth quarter, reaching 100 points with 9:50 to play on a Rondo reverse layup.

New Orleans took Davis and Holiday out with 7:03 to play. Mirotic did not even play in the final quarter. It was that kind of night.

Jrue Holiday upstairs to AD on the oop!#DoItBigger #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/sM630kMzR3

— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2018

Mirotic had 30 points and eight rebounds on 12-of-15 shooting. Davis finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Rondo had 16 points and 11 assists. Holiday had 16 points and seven assists.

Without garbage time and poor play by the end of the bench players, New Orleans would likely have won by 30 poitns.

The win was the first home playoff win for Davis. That is another negative number erased.

It is over but the shouting. Teams taking a 3-0 lead in the playoffs are 128-0.

The goal now is to win Saturday afternoon to earn a little rest. Golden State will no doubt be the opponent.

After the two road wins were incredibly impressive, the win tonight was even more impressive.

New Orleans was virtually flawless offensively, so much so that Mirotic did not even see the floor in the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Pelicans were terrific. They have taken the heart out of the Blazers.

While depth remains a concern for New Orleans when competing with the defending champions in the next round, the foursome of Davis, Holiday, Rondo and Mirotic is playing at an extremely high level and looking able to matchup with any group of four in the league.

Game four is Saturday at 4 p.m. at The Blender. With another frenzied sellout crowd, the expectation has to be that the Pelicans will finish it off and win a playoff series for the first time since the 2007-08 Hornets. The buzz, this time around, is even greater. The Pelicans have made it look easy. That says it all.