NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking Points as New Orleans win a close game against the Dallas Mavericks
The New Orleans Pelicans avenged their previous match defeat to the Dallas Mavericks by winning a very close game at home. The final scoreline was 114-112 in favor of the Pelicans.
This match was more about who is having a better game between Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis than the whole team. They were going back and forth with each other and it was a phenomenal sight to watch as a basketball fan.
This was another close game from both the teams as they both wanted to win this one. While the Mavericks wanted to win 2 on the Pelicans, the latter wanted to avenge their previous match defeat to the same.
With this win, the Pelicans are now ranked 14th with a record of 16-20, while the Mavericks are at 12th with a record of 16-18.
Now, the 3 talking points from this game are -
#3 3-point problems for New Orleans
New Orleans are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams as they are 18th in the league at it. They lack shooters who could take them out of a slump and clearly rely too heavily on their inside-the-paint finishers like Davis and Randle to save them.
In this match, they shot a disastrous 17% which almost made sure that they lost the game. But thanks to a herculean effort from Davis, they survived this one.
But, if this is the sign of things to come for New Orleans, then Davis may not be able to save them next time. All of them were ice cold and none of the shots for the Pelicans were falling from the arc. It was due to their inside shot and some bad interior defense from Dallas they won this game.