The New Orleans Pelicans played their first back-to-back game of the season and shocked me. Not only because of the result, but also because of the effort this group has made. I can’t remember a single time when they didn’t push the pace in transition, and not once can I remember when players didn’t back off on defense. The energy and effort were electric tonight, which is why they took this 101-99.
Before the season started, I talked about Herb Jones stepping in as a scorer when Zion Williamson isn’t playing, and that’s exactly what he did. His defense turned into offense as he finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three shares.
He had my favorite play of the nightwhich turns his stems into an and-one on the other side.
What I have enjoyed in the last two games is that the next man up mentality has been real. Not only did Jones step up for Z tonight, but on another bad night for Trey Murphy III, Saddiq Bey stepped in and did a great job picking up the slack.
Bey finished with a team-high 22 points while shooting 9 for 14 from the field and seemed to simply put the ball in the basket when the team needed it most. Bey intervened and scored a coupling arrangement to put the Pelicans up 3 with less than a minute and a half to play.
Can we also talk about Micah Peavy finally getting some real screen time! He logged 18 minutes and made the most of it with great defense and rebounding. He didn’t get in anyone’s way; he just played his role perfectly. I loved it!
Derik Queen’s praise continues
I hope I never have to stop praising Derik Queen. He’s just such a special player, and every time he plays, I understand better why Joe Dumars refused to DQ out of the 2025 NBA draft.
He could go downhill in the link, make a mistakeand hits a free throw, putting New Orleans up by two and sealing the victory.
Another trend that carried over from the win over the Hornets to tonight’s win over the Mavericks was the bench tandem of Jose Alvarado and DQ. This duo gave the Pelicans a little bit of everything tonight, totaling 24 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
It’s as if sharing the court with Alvarado Queen plus 100 only boosts his confidence, as the swagger these two play together is contagious. This duo makes me think Queen needs to continue coming off the bench so Willie Green can maximize his minutes with Alvarado.
Back-to-back extremely hard-fought matches and well-deserved victories. This style of play is what I expected this season: courageous, brutal and winning. I hope they can keep it.
#Pelicans #earn #gutsy #victory #Mavericks #unexpected #hero