For the second straight game, the New Orleans Pelicans showed some resilience, rallying from a 19-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 109-103 on Tuesday night. It marked the second consecutive game in which the Pelicans overcame a double-digit deficit to beat the Spurs and their ninth win in their last 11 meetings.
Trey Murphy, like the rest of the Pelicans, got off to a slow start against San Antonio. He missed his first five shots before finally getting into the scoring column in the second quarter. However, he found his rhythm as the game progressed, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting, posting 15 in the second half.
Bruce Brown turned in his best performance since joining the Pelicans, contributing across the board with eight points, six rebounds, and six assists. He showed some defensive intensity on a night where the Pelicans were inconsistent in their effort, highlighted by a key late-game sequence where he forced De’Aaron Fox into a traveling violation. Brown’s +20 plus-minus in 29 minutes led the bench as Jordan Hawkins added 12 points and Karlo Matkovic provided eight more.
New Orleans had to ramp up on defense as the game progressed. After allowing 35 points early in the second quarter and falling behind 39-22, the Pelicans locked in, holding the Spurs to just 22 points in the second quarter and 20 in the fourth. San Antonio finished the game shooting just 40.9% from the field.
New Orleans got its first lead of the game on Jordan Hawkins’ layup at the 10:19 mark. The Pelicans were able to execute in crunch time, with key baskets from CJ McCollum, Murphy, and Yves Missi. Missi ended the night with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Kelly Olynyk had another good night on the boards with 12 rebounds, following up his 15-rebound effort from Sunday’s win over the Spurs.
With the victory, the Pels completed a two-game sweep of San Antonio before having to leave town for a four-game road trip while New Orleans celebrates Mardi Gras. The Pelicans will face the Phoenix Suns in a back-to-back set before heading to Utah and Los Angeles to take on the Lakers. With the Suns fighting to stay in the play-in picture and the Lakers pushing for a top-four seed, the Pelicans have to embrace the opportunity to play spoiler.
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