A strong start by JJ Redick and a stronger finish by Brandon Ingram powered the Pelicans to a win on TNT over the Phoenix Suns on the road on Friday, 124-121.
The Good: Brandon Ingram’s fourth quarter
Up until the fourth quarter, this section seemed like a runaway for Redick. But Ingram scored 14 points in the fourth and hit clutch basket after clutch basket down the stretch to turn a close game into a comfortable win. Ingram finished with a team-high 28 points, scored the final nine New Orleans’ points and was huge on both ends in the fourth. Tack on eight rebounds and five assists to his stat line and his plus-minus of +24 and the story of his big night is told.
Still, JJ Redick deserves a bit more than an honorable mention after scoring 26 points on the night. Redick was scorching from three-point range in the first quarter with back-to-back four-point play opportunities. He finished with 26 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting and 10-of-14 shooting overall.
Honorable Mentions: Kenrich Williams’ glue-guy plays, Jrue Holiday, E’Twaun Moore
The Bad: The Bench
Typically a strong suit for the Pelicans, the bench had a subpar night by its lofty standards. Moore finished with 19 points but all five players off the bench had negative plus-minus figures on the evening. Ironically enough, Moore had the lowest plus-minus on the team at -16.
Frank Jackson struggled, missing all four shots, and while Lonzo Ball returned, he predictably struggled from the field after a hot start.
Also interesting is that Nickeil Walker-Alexander played less than two minutes in the win. With the Pelicans getting healthy, the rotation will quickly become crowded again and NAW may be on the outside looking in.
Honorable Mention: The refs in the final seconds, Jrue Holiday’s free throws to end the game
The Ball: A strong return
Ball needed only seconds to find the scoring column again after making his return on Friday night. Ball connected on his first shot of the night, a three-pointer, before hitting a baseline jumper on his second attempt.
In total, Ball finished with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting overall and 2-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He added five assists and a rebound as well. He did all of it in 19:11, a tick below the expected 20-minute cap on Ball’s night.
The focus now will be on how Ball feels after the game and whether his body reacts well to being back in action. That will determine his availability on Saturday.
