“They just packed the paint. They have a lot of aggressive guys,” added Ollie.
Brooklyn dropped its fourth straight contest and dropped 4 1/2 lengths behind 10th-place Atlanta in the hunt for the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with 13 games remaining.
Following a 1-5 road odyssey that kept them out of our borough for almost two weeks, the Nets (26-43) were eager to feast on some home cooking before departing on a four-game trip beginning Thursday in Milwaukee.
But Williamson and the Pelicans (42-26) had other ideas.
The 6-foot-6 dynamo drained 11-of-16 shots, all six of his free throws and had jaws dropping after he stuffed Naji Marshall’s lob down to give New Orleans an 89-74 cushion with 10:21 to play.
“When (Marshall) got the steal, I said, ‘Oh he is throwing it,’” Williamson revealed. “He threw a good pass, went and got it.”
CJ McCollum finished with 16 points and Larry Nance Jr., added 13 off the bench for the Pelicans, who pulled within one-half game of the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and the chance to host a first-round playoff series.
New Orleans also secured its second straight winning season, something the franchise had not accomplished since 2009.
“That’s the program that we’re trying to build — it’s a sustainable winning culture and it feels like we’re trending in a good way right now,” Pelicans coach Willie Green told the Associated Press.
Cam Thomas continued his career-best scoring streak for Brooklyn, putting up at least 20 points for the sixth straight game.
He had 25 on 8-of-19 shooting, but the Nets committed 10 first-half turnovers and fell behind 64-45 at intermission.
Ollie was enthused that his team held New Orleans to 40 points following the break, but Thomas admittedly is…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply