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After a competitive first half, largely in part to the Pelicans bench combining to score 35 points, the second half was a total disaster. The team went down as abjectly as the Titanic did once in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean because they failed to solve the most simplistic riddle: How to get Anthony Davis, Mr. 59/20, the ball in space.
Precisely, the third quarter was a horror show. On one end, the Wizards shot wide open three-point jumpers multiple times with glee, especially Jared Dudley. For some reason, New Orleans didn't think it was pertinent to guard one of their best marksmen from the perimeter.
On the other, the offense sputtered like a dying Volkswagen, long before Fahrvergnugen was ever invented. Toney Douglas, not Jrue Holiday for the umpteenth time, started for Norris Cole after halftime because he had to finish receiving some IV fluids in the locker room. The Pelicans failed to score in nearly the first 5 minutes of the third quarter.
By the time Ryan Anderson joined Holiday and Davis on the floor, the deficit had ballooned to 17 points. With the coaching staff failing to get New Orleans' superstar going, this one was over well before the final frame. Ugh.
Holiday finished with a game-high of 20 points and 7 assists, but it took him 21 field goal attempts to reach that total. Anderson finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 threes and 2 steals. And as for Davis?
— David Fisher (@usnfish) February 24, 2016
Stay tuned for Zachary's full recap. I'm sure it won't be pleasant, nor should it be.