Pelicans lose momentum from win over Jazz, drop rematch with Bulls

Based on the identity of the 2020-21 New Orleans Pelicans, who didn’t see this coming?

New Orleans was coming off of its biggest win of the season, beating the best team in the league in Utah, and hosted a team with a losing record in Chicago.

The Bulls were bullish while the Pelicans played the role of sheep lost in the wilderness and were gored by the Bulls for three quarters Wednesday night at Smoothie King Center in a 128-124 loss.

It was a disaster on the defensive end most of the night but what else is new?

The Bulls simply ran pick-and-rolls to free open shooters, made extra passes and had New Orleans chasing shooters in scramble mode and either drove right by defenders for layups or ran back cuts for easy layups.

That is, until Jaxson Hayes entered the game in the second half.

His energy picked up the energy of his entire team as Hayes put on his best performance of the year and it was almost enough to rally his team to an improbable victory but the inability to make free throws doomed New Orleans.

The Pelicans came out virtually asleep.

Chicago scored the first eight points of the game.

New Orleans did not score until Zion Williamson did with 8:53 to play in the opening quarter. New Orleans got to the free throw line a whopping 15 times in the first quarter but only made eight.

Williamson was a one-man gang with 14 points and four rebounds, playing the entire first quarter.

The Pelicans shot just 38.1 percent from the field in the quarter. Brandon Ingram did not score in the quarter.

New Orleans rallied to cut the deficit to 26-25 by the end of the opening quarter.
Williamson rested until the 5:15 of the first half. He returned with New Orleans trailing 42-37 and Zion was surrounded by the Chicago defense the rest of the half and scored just two points to finish with 16 in the half while the other four Pelican starters combined for just 14 points.

Chicago closed the first half on a 20-4 run to take a commanding 64-45 lead by the break as the Bulls blitzed the Pelicans 38-20 in the second quarter.

Ingram had a lousy half with just six points on 3-of-10 shooting, one rebound and three fouls.

Chicago pounded the Pelicans 30-17 on the boards in the half. The Bulls had a huge 34-20 edge on points in the paint, despite Williamson scoring 10 points in the paint.
The lead was 96-79 going to the fourth quarter.

The Pelicans closed it to a one-possession game twice down the stretch but could not close the deal, missing key free throws.

Zasch Lavine was superb again for the Bulls, scoring 36 points as the Bulls completed a 2-game sweep of the Pelicans.

New Orleans got to the free throw line 38 times but made just 26 (68.4%). Williamson, who has been outstanding of late from the line, struggled to the tune of 8-of-16 from the line.

After allowing Williamson to go off in the first quarter, the Bulls built a wall around Zion and shut him, making it difficult for him to even get a shot until the final eight minutes of the game.

Outside of Williamson and Josh Hart, the only other bright spots were JJ Redick and Jaxson Hayes. Redick is playing better over the last few games, moving much better without the ball and has displayed confidence in his shot.

Hayes came on in the second half and showed very good help defense, blocking a pair of shots and finishing with a dunk on the offensive end. Hayes was 5-of-5 from the field for 10 points with three blocks.

Williamson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Redick scored 22 points and Hart had 13 points with five rebounds. Ingram finished with 21 points but was a non-factor much of the night. New Orleans shot 56 percent from the field and still lost.

The Pelicans were just 6-of-22 (28%) from 3-point range, got beat 64-54 on points in the paint and were whipped 45-35 on the boards.

New Orleans trailed by as many as 19 points but outscored Chicago 45-32 in the fourth quarter to make it close but that is simply not good enough.

Basketball games are four quarters. You cannot play hard for one quarter and expect to win.

It was a case of double jeopardy.

The Pelicans sold out to pull close but to fall short and now must play again Thursday night.

Even with a good defensive effort in the fourth quarter, the Pelicans still gave up 128 points. Once again, they must outscore opponents to win.

Now 15-20, the Pelicans play their final game before the All-Star break Thursday night at home against Miami in the second of a back-to-back.

It will take a better, more sustained effort to get a better result.