Pelicans throttle Rockets to open regular season, 131-112

So, that was a statement.

What exactly it was, or what exactly it means, won’t be known until May (or possibly June), but the New Orleans Pelicans said something with their 131-112 road win over the Houston Rockets in Wednesday’s season opener.

New Orleans had four players score at least 20 points, three players posted double-doubles, while Gretna native Elfrid Payton put up the first triple double (10 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) by a player in his first game with a new team in 25 years.

Anthony Davis had game-highs with 32 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots and flirted with a triple-double of his own by handing out a career-high eight assists.

“He was unstoppable,” said Nikola Mirotic of the franchise player’s big night. “He played amazing. He was really reading great. When they were blitzing he was passing the ball. When he was in iso he was able to score.”

“He was huge. He’s our leader and we all try to follow him.”

Mirotic was no slouch himself, connecting on his first six three-pointers on his way to 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Julius Randle came off the bench to score 25 points in just under 24 minutes.

E’Twaun Moore (21 points) and Jrue Holiday (10 points) rounded out the scoring.

It was a total domination by the Pelicans, who led from start to finish and won every quarter.

“To come out with a win against a team like this, coming off the season that they had, and us coming off the season we had; we wanted to come out and set the tempo for ourselves,” said Davis after the game.

That they did. The Pelicans, who led the NBA in pace last season, picked up right where they left off and pushed the pedal down some more. New Orleans took 98 shots from the floor and had an offensive rating of 124.8. The Rockets led the league last season in ORTG at 114.0.

Houston had no answer for the Pelicans offensively, and the Pels’ defense frustrated the Rockets all night. James Harden, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, was held to 18 points on 15 shots and a plus/minus of -23. Chris Paul and PJ Tucker scored 19 points each, and former Pelican Eric Gordon led Houston with 21.

However, the Rockets shot just 42 percent from the floor (33 percent from deep).

“We did a good job of making them feel uncomfortable and making them take tough shots that we can live with,” Davis added.

Davis, Mirotic, and Randle punished the smaller Rockets all night. If Davis wasn’t jumping over them for a lob dunk, Randle was steaming to the basket like a freight train. If that option wasn’t available, Mirotic just shot it from deep.

This three-headed, front court monster could run roughshod over the league in the months to come.

That’s the plan anyway.

“Coach (Alvin Gentry) has been talking through the preseason, ‘I think we’re going to be trouble for teams,’ especially inside with Julius, AD, and me spacing the floor,” said Mirotic.

With all that being said, this was just game one of 82. The Pelicans may have captured the attention of the nation, and excited the fan base, but no playoff spots were secured and no championships were won at the Toyota Center.

Gentry has preached consistency for his team, and getting too high over one win isn’t something this team is going to do.

“We’ve gotta go back and look at film,” Davis said. “We gave a lot of transition buckets up, we can defend better one-on-one, and do a better job of rebounding on the offensive end…but we are happy with the win.”

The Pelicans have other things to work on as well. Randle scored 25 of the team’s 29 bench points, with Solomon Hill and Darius Miller being the only other reserves to see significant time on the floor. All five starters topped 30 minutes, with Davis, Payton, and Holiday playing more than 36 each.

What we did learn Wednesday night is that the top of the Pelicans’ lineup can match up with any in the league when it’s rolling. Taking anything more than that away from a game that represents just over one percent of the schedule would be premature.

New Orleans will get its first up close look at the Pelicans on Friday, when the Sacramento Kings visit the Smoothie King Center.

One out of 82. But what a memorable one it was.

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