A rather misleading final score was not indicative of the dominant performance from the Pelicans in a 125-119 win over the Bulls on the road Thursday.
The Good: The third quarter
The Pelicans turned a game that was fairly close into a blowout in the third. After holding a 10-point halftime lead, New Orleans outscored the Bulls 31-19 in the third quarter to blow the game open. The lead grew as big as 27 points in the second half before a weird ending to the game saw the Bulls make it much closer in the final four minutes.
But the damage had been done. Five Pelicans scored in double figures. New Orleans had a season-high 38 assists on 49 made field goals. It was a thoroughly dominant effort.
The Bad: The final four minutes for bettors
For those folks who may have bet on Thursday’s contest, a particularly odd ending may have led to much consternation.
In most books, the Pelicans closed as 6.0 point favorites against Chicago. With 3:54 left, the Pelicans led 119-96 and were comfortably on their way to a blowout. But Adam Mokoka happened for the Bulls as he scored 15 points in 5:07 and the lad got as little as four before a late tip-in from Nicolo Melli ended the wild comeback attempt.
The Ball: Double-digit assists
Lonzo Ball Had a strong first half scoring, hitting three three-pointers on four attempts. He took just one shot in the second half but recorded seven assists in the final two periods to finish with nine points and 10 assists. He also finished with three steals, three rebounds and three turnovers.
