The Pelicans will now square off against the Suns
The New Orleans Pelicans are headed to the NBA playoffs after taking down the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-101, on Friday night and will now square off against the Phoenix Suns in a 1/8 matchup in the Western Conference.
Despite the fact that they were without the services of Paul George, who was ineligible to play in the game after entering the league's health and safety protocols, the Clippers scored a run after falling behind by double digits to Brandon Ingram and the Pelicans. were able to. , In the end, however, this was not enough to get the job done as New Orleans eventually came out on top. With the win, the Pelicans will be up against the Suns on Sunday night in the next class with a starting tip scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
With the loss, the Clippers see their season come to an end in what must be disappointing fashion, given the hopes they had after the addition of George and Kawhi Leonard to their roster.
Here are three key findings from the game:
1. Ingram Saves
About 90 seconds into the game, Brandon Ingram pulled for a mid-range jumper to give the Pelicans their first points of the game. A few possessions later he did it again. And again, and again and again. He put up 16 points in the first quarter alone, in the way of a 30-point, six-rebound, six-assist performance that was one of the best of his youth career.
2 overall pick back in 2016, Ingram never played in a playoff game, and came into a play-in tournament scheduled to change that fact.
"Man that sounds great," Ingram said. "Just got a chance to be in post season this year. Never had a winning record, never post season. It's beautiful to get a chance to showcase my talent on the biggest stage."
For a large portion of the second half, it looked like Ingram and the Pelicans couldn't get there. He let the 16-point lead slip away and Ingram went cold with the rest of the team. But after being pressed by Nick Bottom for a stretch, Ingram finally figured things out in the fourth. He scored seven of his 30 points in the frame, and he had some big baskets on his way back to the Pelicans.
It hasn't been the smoothest season for Ingram, as injuries limited him to 55 games, and Zion Williamson's absence has caused him to carry an aggressive load. But he is healthy now, and he delivered massively when the season was on the line.
"Brandon Ingram is the truth," said Pelicans head coach Willie Greene. "He's just brought in. He's had that look in his eyes since we got on the plane, to shoot. He's been locked up. He's been waiting for this moment, sort of. For the moment. His preparation is off the charts. This summer he used to go six-seven hours a day. He believes in his teammates. He is what you want and is more in a player and a person."
2. Wins Play-In Tournament
When the NBA first decided to test play-in tournaments at Bubble Back in 2020, no one knew whether it would be a small experiment or the beginning of a new post-season era. After this week, no need to guess much. The play-in tournament is awesome and it's here to stay.
It would continue to be contested because of such scenarios, where the Clippers lost Paul George for one game and were then knocked out of the playoffs by a team that finished six games behind them in the standings. To be honest, it's not an unfair situation, but it won't be enough to impress the league.
The play-in tournament improves on the regular season by giving added importance to games that have long been meaningless, and the revenue that additional national TV games bring is not insignificant. Most important, though, real basketball provides excellent play. These winner-take-all games are extremely rare in the NBA, and now we get a full week of them. You can see how much winning these games means to players, and there's nothing better than emotional, high-stakes basketball.
Just listen to this Willie Greene speech:
"You've got to fight!"
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 16, 2022
Head Coach Willie Green's message to the Pelicans heading into the 4th QTR 😤 pic.twitter.com/vSFjwXbJni
Friday night's game was a perfect example. If the NBA wants to make the case for a play-in tournament, it must replay the game on loop. Or even just the second half, which was one of the best 24 minutes of basketball we've seen all season. Both teams came back in double digits after the break as the game went down in the last second before the Pelicans pulled it out.
3. Pelicans' Bench Steps Up
If you had only checked the stats from the last game, you would probably skim over the bench point section, which shows the Pelicans outscoring the Clippers 37-33 in that category. On paper, this is such a small statistical difference that it doesn't seem remarkable. In practice, however, the Pelicans bench was the difference in the game as it came over the clutch at the bottom of the stretch.
Larry Nance Jr., Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado repeatedly came up with big plays to key the Pelicans' return in the fourth quarter and ensure they won. Nance and Murphy both played almost the entire fourth quarter, and combined for 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the frame. Meanwhile, Alvarado had only two rebounds and one assist on the stat sheet, but his hustle plays in the turnaround were crucial.
Trey for 3!
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2022
Trey Murphy TIES IT UP for the @PelicansNBA
4:38 remaining in the #MetaQuestPlayIn on TNT pic.twitter.com/6vF40LG9Zr
The Clippers' short ball approach in the third quarter stunned the Pelicans, Willie Greene also responded by going short, and played Nance in the center down the stretch. It turned out to be a great move. Nance feasted on glasses, made strong defenses, and at times brought buckets.
For Murphy, he did exactly what the team was hoping for when they drafted him in the first round last year: Lights Out. He came in fourth with three huge triples, one to tie the game with 4:40 remaining, and the other to keep the Pells above seven and essentially seal the game with 2:10 remaining. gave.