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This game was fun. Amazing. A ridiculously high pace with stars pouring in buckets left and right. Russell Westbrook was himself and is simply a joy to watch play basketball at this point. Kevin Durant hit shot after shot over solid defense, often at the expense of Dante Cunningham. Even Dion Waiters was cooking from the corners. Waiters holds the follow through on every single attempt as if that shot will win an NBA championship. Fun!
For the New Orleans Pelicans all three available stars played at a very high level. Anthony Davis scored 16 points in the first quarter alone and took 12 shots, a far cry from the 9 total shots against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. On the night Davis finished with 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. On his left and right were Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson. Anderson was on, burying that ridiculously difficult stepback despite the defense. Holiday was steady and found his lost stroke behind the arc, knocking down two from three. Anderson poured in 26 points and 6 rebounds while Holiday had 22 points and 9 assists of his own.
At one point in the fourth quarter two consecutive pick and roll sets went into Kendrick Perkins who expertly kicked it out to Toney Douglas and Dante Cunningham who converted the open looks. That is something that actually happened! Perkins had two assists tonight! Norris Cole was great with 21 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. It was a throwback to those 1980's up and down games. The score might suggest the defense was terrible (and there were plenty of breakdowns) but Durant and Westbrook were hitting very difficult shots.
New Orleans will be off tomorrow and back at it again on Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Enjoy fun basketball, even in a disappointing season. Those months of July and August without good basketball to consume are closer than you think.