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The Pelicans lost a game they should have won. They played decently in the first half, but after halftime, they settled for jumpshots, even when they were ice cold. Granted, they made a nice run at the end of the game to force a tie with under a minute remaining, but when you allow a team to hang around, sometimes just one lucky shot can make the difference. Kemba Walker's did tonight. All this despite the team looking to AD during crunch time.
Just for your info: AD is 3 for 3 in crunch time tonight. Now 21 for 23 on the season.
— Oleh Kosel (@Redhopeful) January 8, 2015
Monty Williams has his work cut out for him. After leading by 13, the Pelicans failed to execute on both ends of the floor for most of the second half. It certainly wasn't for a lack of Anthony Davis shot attempts -- he had 24 and scored 32 on the night. However, as I've been stressing lately, it might not be a good thing to make AD the focal point.
Not looking too good tonight? The Pelicans are 3-5 when AD attempts 20 or more shots.
— Oleh Kosel (@Redhopeful) January 8, 2015
The defense allowed too many good looks and the Hornets were able to get into a nice rhythm scoring 57 points in the second half. For your information, Charlotte averages 45.9 in the final 24 minutes of ball games. Ugh.
Quentin will have your full recap later, but let's not sugarcoat anything, this was a bad loss.