One of the marquee games in the NBA had one of the hottest teams, the Brooklyn Nets, match up with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Nets beat the Pelicans 108-102 Saturday morning (Manila time) in New Orleans.
The Pelicans, in spite of a stretch of games that produced mixed results, had one of the best records in the Western Conference. They’ve been reeling the last few games, though, going for just one win in four.
They, however, were up for the fight in the first two quarters of a very frenetic game. They led by as much as 10 points with three minutes left in the first quarter after a Naji Marshall 3-pointer.
Brooklyn kept it close behind Kevin Durant’s seven points at the end of the quarter, 27-28 Pelicans.
CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado coming off the bench, and the Pelicans went on a tear in the second quarter to pad the lead to as much as 15 points before settling for a 64-53 lead.
The Pelicans scored 36 points in the second quarter.
Things changed after half time as Nets star player Kevin Durant scored 12 points in the third quarter, overcoming the Pelicans’ hot first half to take the lead 88-85.
The final quarter got very dicey for the Nets’ lead with a minute left in the game, as the Pelicans managed to close down the gap from a Herbert Jones’ reverse layup that made it 103-100 Nets.
Kyrie Irving, though, made sure to preserve the win with five points in the final seconds, sandwiching a crucial 3-pointer to dash any hopes for a comeback from the Pelicans.
After a 44-point performance in a loss to the Bulls in the previous game, Kevin Durant led the Nets with 33 points and 10 rebounds to get back to their winning ways.
They’ve only lost two games since the start of December and are looking good enough to go on another long winning streak. Kyrie Irving had a poor shooting night but still had 19 points, while TJ Warren contributed 15 points off the bench for the Nets.
The Pelicans were led by CJ McCollum with 28 points and Naji Marshall’s 23 points.
Brooklyn visits Miami next while New Orleans goes to Dallas.
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