PELICANS COLD SHOOTING LEADS TO BLOWOUT BY BLAZERS

The Portland Trail Blazers had to be exhausted coming off a triple overtime victory against the San Antonio Spurs less than 24 hours ago. But Saturday night in New Orleans, they proved to be anything but worn down.

New Orleans had no answer for the Blazers offense from the opening tip off. The first few possessions featured a highly anticipated mid-range shootout between star power forwards LaMarcus Aldridge and Anthony Davis. Unfortunately for New Orleans, Davis (and the rest of the team) was loaded with blanks.

Aldridge, who scored 9 of the Blazers’ first 12 points, was on the mark for the entire night finishing with 27 points in only 29 minutes. Nicolas Batum may have only scored 11 points, but his impact on this game was undeniable. His 3 steals lead to some easy shots for himself (including one of the most wide open dunks ever allowed in the half court) and his fellow perimeter threats Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews, who drained a trio of threes a piece.

Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) and center Alexis Ajinca (42) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Trail Blazers defeated the Pelicans 114-88. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Former Hornet Chris Kaman also had a stellar night, finishing with 16 points off the bench for Portland, shooting 8-10 from the field.

As good as the Trail Blazers’ offense was, the Pelicans’ defense was far from respectable. It was as if they were moving at half the speed of Portland. The ball would fly around for a few seconds, and before you could even point out who was out of position, the Blazers were running back on defense after another easy bucket.

For whatever reason New Orleans was just sluggish as a whole all night, and it showed on both ends.

As if the poor defensive effort wasn’t enough, the Pelicans just could not get the ball in the basket. With Davis starting the game cold on New Orleans’ first few possessions, the offense just could not get going. In the past, most of the scoring issues that have plagued this team revolved around stagnant ball movement and long two point shots. Against Portland, the paint proved to be the Pelicans’ poison.

Combined, the trio of Davis, Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans combined for a whopping 8-37 performance from the field. To make matters worse, 16 of those misses were either in or just outside of the paint. Some nights the ball just will not fall.

Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Tyreke Evans (1) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

With the Blazers taking the lead into the thirties in the second half, both benches got some nice floor time. The value of Austin Rivers (who posted a season high of 21 points and was 11-12 on free throws) seeing the ball drop that many times should not be understated for a player who seemingly lacks confidence at times. Mind you, the fact that he saw his shots drop more than the trio of Davis, Holiday and Evans combined is not too enlightening.

Alexis Ajinca, although only logging 15 minutes, managed to post a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.

Russ Smith, who was called up from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the Developmental League earlier in the day, scored the first 5 points of his career. With Jimmer Fredette once again going scoreless (0-3 from the field), Smith may start to see an increase in opportunity.

The Pelicans were clearly out of sync against Portland, but they had to quickly figure it out before their game against the Kevin Durant-less Oklahoma City Thunder.

Well, at least Anthony Davis figured it out.

DAVIS ELECTROCUTES THUNDER, CARRIES PELICANS TO VICTORY

Dec 21, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) drives to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Davis had another monster performance Sunday night, putting up 38 points on 16-22 shooting in addition to 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Davis started the game hot just as he had seen Aldridge do the night before, shooting 5-8 from the field in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, Evans and Holiday once again struggled to finish their opportunities, finishing a combined 10-29 from the field. However, not all was lost. Holiday managed to sink 3 timely triples while also dishing out a career high matching 15 assists. Evans did finish with 7 assists of his own and managed to knock down a couple of midrange jump shots to kick off the second half.

The Thunder obviously lose a ton with Durant on the bench, but you could not tell from the energy they play with. Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson were firecrackers throughout. Whether it was Jackson draining jump shots of Westbrook driving, finishing and getting to the line, the Oklahoma City Thunder guards kept the team alive.

Dec 21, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) handles the ball against New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Both teams had players with smaller roles step up tonight. Perry Jones, faced with the impossible task of filling Durant’s shoes, played well. He was efficient on offense, scoring on 5-9 of his shot attempts before finishing with 11 points. Former Pelican Anthony Morrow did what he does best in making a few shots to energize his teammates.

As Davis left the floor for his well-deserved rest in the first half, I was scared. The Brow had provided the only consistent shot making so far. The rest of the team had combined for only 1 make. ONE. But who better to replace our league best power forward and team centerpiece Anthony Davis than Alexis Ajinca?

Yes, you read that right. Alexis Ajinca.

Somehow, someway, the reserve big man posted 11 of his best minutes as a Pelican with Davis off the floor. His flurry of dunks and mid ranged jump shots carried the load long enough for the rest of the team to get back in a rhythm. He may foul too much, but if Alexis can get his shots to fall, he can be a valuable asset to this team.

Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca (42) knocks the ball away from Portland Trail Blazers forward Thomas Robinson (41) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Trail Blazers defeated the Pelicans 114-88. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

What makes the last three minutes of this game different from the bucket fest I have been describing from this weekend? A COMPLETE lack of bukets.

A Jrue Holiday steal leading to an Anthony Davis dunk put the Pels up 101-99 with 2:58 to play. The final score?

101-99.

Miraculously, Russell Westbrook went cold in terms of both making shots and getting free throw attempts during the last three minutes (thanks to some more great defense from Holiday on the ball). Another Pelicans dry spell, an all too common theme from this weekend, nearly cost them a critical game. But, they escaped and gave themselves some breathing room from the lurking Thunder (13-15).

The Pelicans found themselves victims of the Slaughter at Smoothie King on Saturday thanks to a very good Blazers team. However, Anthony Davis was able to bounce back and carry the team to a win in Oklahoma City. This win made the sports weekend in New Orleans somewhat bearable.