NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from the New Orleans Pelicans' Blowout Win Over the Cleveland Cavaliers
The New Orleans Pelicans were desperate for a win after having dropped a quiet winnable game against the Brooklyn Nets recently. They bounced back in dominant fashion, thanks to the miserable Cavaliers run lately, and took an imposing 133-98 victory.
The Cavaliers ninth straight loss came as the aftermath of a closed-door meeting that Coach Drew held with his players after a 26-point blowout loss to Utah the night before. Nothing good came off the conversation apparently, as the Cavs lost their sixth straight home game, and dropped to a league-worst 8-32 (0.200) record on the season, having now lost 11 of their last 12 games.
The Pelicans snapped their six-game road losing streak (they are 5-16 on the road this season), having won just three of their last ten games. Surprisingly, they are currently the second worst team on the West leaderboard (after the Phoenix Suns) and hold an 18-22(0.450) win-loss record. Despite the Cavs being miserable, the Pels left no lack of intensity and focus on the defensive end until the final buzzer.
Let's draw out some key takeaways from this much-need NOLA win over the nose-diving Cavaliers side.
#1 Anthony Davis and Julius Randle post solid double-doubles
AD finished with 20 points and 10 boards (3 of them being on the offensive glass), along with a game-high four steals to his name. He shot a decent 6-off-12 from the field and chipped in with a couple of blocks as well, all this while committing just one turnover. He has scored 20 or more points in 11 consecutive games now, averaging almost 30 points per game across the previous ten clashes.
Julius Randle was tied with Jrue Holiday for a game-high total of 22 points, while also adding 10 rebounds and 8 dimes, falling short of a triple-double by just a couple of assists. Randle stepped up with the most minutes (33) for the Pelicans in this game, shooting a decent 8-of-14 from the floor on the night.
"This was really good for us, a win like this," Randle said. "I like what we were doing on the defensive end."