Zion Williamson #1 and Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans high five each other after their 129-124 win over the Utah Jazz at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
The New Orleans Pelicans upset the Western Conference leader Utah Jazz 129-124 at home on Monday, avoiding a third loss in a row.
The Jazz have been so dominant this season thanks to their playing style and squad both of which fits the concept of modern basketball. Meanwhile, the rich experience of their players on the floor also plays an important part.
Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans shoots in the game against the Utah Jazz at Smoothie King Center, March 1, 2021. /CFP
Unfortunately, absolute talent beats all of the above and the Pelicans, or more specifically, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, have that kind of talent. Ingram is longer than most defenders the Jazz could put on him. Since he is also a good off-the-dribble shooter, neither is it a good idea to have Rudy Gobert or Derrick Favors face him. Though Ingram went 11-20 in field goals to score 26 points, he shot nothing from the arc, so he's at least a bearable pain for the Jazz.
Compared with Ingram, Williamson is a different story. Usually no one wants to challenge Gobert, a 2.16-meter two-time Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), especially under the rim. However, Williamson kept blowing the French giant out of the baseline in penetration before putting the ball into the basket with his incredibly soft touch. The 20-year-old young man took all of his 17 shots in the paint and made 10 of them to score 26 points plus 10 rebounds and five assists.
Lonzo Ball #2 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on in the game against the Utah Jazz at Smoothie King Center, March 1, 2021. /CFP
Ingram and Williamson were not the only reason behind the Pelicans' victory at Smoothie King Center. Lonzo Ball got 23 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and went 3-5 in triples. He also delivered two blocks on defense. He has not shined as often as other young blood that joined the league in the past four years, but Ball was the second-overall selection in his class.
Despite the loss, the Jazz drained the 17 triples in Monday's game, meaning that they buried at least 10 shots from downtown in every of their 35 games so far this season. The are the second team to do so in NBA history after the Houston Rockets which did it in their first 41 games last season.
Other games on Monday (away teams come first):
Luka Doncic #77 of the DallasMavericks shoots in the game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
Dallas Mavericks 130-124 Orlando Magic
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks to their eighth win in the past 10 games. He missed one assist for a triple-double after scoring 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. When the Magic kept narrowing the deficit down in the last quarter, Doncic drained a big 3-pointer to kill the game for his team.
No wonder a one-of-its-kind rookie card of his was sold for $4.6 million, the highest price for an basketball player card ever and only next to the $5.2-million Topps Mickey Mantle (baseball) card in 1952 in the history of sport trading cards.
Compared with Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis was nothing but disappointment at Amway Center on Monday. He was only 5-15 and 3-10 in field goals and 3-pointers. His defensive work was not reliable either as he watched Nikola Vucevic put down 29 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Perhaps the Mavericks should take some time consider whether Porzingis should be part of their future plan.
Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
Indiana Pacers 114-130 Philadelphia 76ers
The game was long gone after three quarters. Joel Embiid had 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes. Ben Simmons got 18 points and six rebounds. He knocked a tooth out of Doug McDermott's mouth by accident when the two were competing for the ball in the third quarter.
The 76ers have one game left before the All-Star break: The Eastern Conference leader will host their Western counterpart Utah Jazz at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
Denver Nuggets 118-112 Chicago Bulls
Another dominant game for Nikola who dropped 39 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists – he reached these numbers while missing all three triple attempts. Jokic's 17 points in the last quarter could not be more important to the Nuggets' victory.
On the Bulls' side, Zach Lavine and Coby White both worked hard enough as they grabbed 19 rebounds together after scoring 43 points. Nonetheless, missing 12 of 15 shots from downtown was not good enough to help their team make a difference.
James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots in the game against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
Brooklyn Nets 124-113 San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs were surprisingly tenacious as they dragged the game into overtime at home. They deserved praising for that it turned out that's the last resistance of the theirs. James Harden and Kyrie Irving together had 11 points, three rebounds and four assists in OT, leading the Nets to pocket the win with a 16-5 run.
Harden was the biggest contributor to his team's win at AT&T Center on Monday as he scored 30 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists. According to StatMuse, he's the first one in the Nets' franchise history to drop at least 30 point, 10 rebounds and 15 assists in one game. He's the fourth in league history since 1985 to get at least 30 points and 15 assists without committing a turnover – the other three are LeBron James, Chris Paul and John Stockton. Harden also became the first since the NBA began to count turnovers in the 1977-78 season to score a triple double of at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists.
Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers tries to penetrate in the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
Cleveland Cavaliers 101-90 Houston Rockets
Third-year guard Collin Sexton putdown court-high 39 points and eight assists to help the Cavaliers achieve their fourth consecutive win. Jarrett Allen contributed 10 points and 15 rebounds. This was the eight game in a row he has started and Allen had triple-double in all them.
The Rockets just suffered their 12th straight loss in spite of the 52 combined points from John Wall and Victor Oladipo. They were the only two that reached double-digit points in the game for the team, by the way. The Rockets are three games from matching their longest loss-streak record. Their next four opponents are: The Nets, Sacramento Kings, Jazz and the Boston Celtics respectively.
Carmelo Anthony #00 and Robert Covington #23 of the Portland Trail Blazers hi five each other in the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, U.S., March 1, 2021. /CFP
Charlotte Hornets 111-123 Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard was 8-21 and 6-15 in field goals and 3-pointers at Moda Center on Monday, which was not even close to his regular performance this season. Nonetheless, this time he did not have to carry the Rip City on his shoulders because his teammates shared his burden.
Robert Covington who has averaged 7.3 points this season, scored 21 points and 10 rebounds. He was 6-6 in FGs and 4-4 from downtown to get 16 points in the first half.
Thirty-six-year-old Carmelo Anthony had a team-high 29 points, 17 of which came from the fourth quarter thanks to his 7-8 field goal shooting performance.
Gary Trent Jr. contributed 17 points and three assists as well.
It was their joint efforts that made sure the Trail Blazers drained franchise-record 24 triples at home to end their four-loss-streak.