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With how the Pelicans played well offensively throughout the first half, finished on an 8-2 run in the final 48 seconds, one would have figured the team's 57-51 lead would hold up as long as the offense didn't wilt. After all, the Thunder were 4-13 on the road when trailing at intermission; the Pelicans were a sparkling 13-0 at home when leading at the break.
Well, the offense did die in the second half, and with a career high 45-point effort by Russell Westbrook, the Thunder stunned the Pelicans in the Smoothie King Center. In the final minutes of the game, the Pelicans went scoreless on 10+ straight possessions (and it's not like they didn't have a multitude of good looks!) That type of production will result in a loss every single time.
Tyreke Evans looked to score a lot more than usual and it hurt. I'm not sure how many times he was rejected, but it seemed like it happened at least 5 times. Overall, he finished 5 for 20. Eric Gordon was also cold and went 3-12.
Anthony Davis went for a team-high 23 points (on 9-21) and Ryan Anderson added 19.
Stay tuned for Quentin's recap coming up a bit later folks. Not making shots we normally make ended up costing us the game, not Westbrook's fantastic night (although that didn't help.)
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