The New Orleans Pelicans reached the NBA in-season tournament semifinals and flopped.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are doing just fine despite failing to reach the knockout round of the tournament.
The Pelicans will play their first post-tournament game when they host the Timberwolves Monday night, four days after they were routed by the Lakers 133-89 in Las Vegas.
“(It was) just a lack of competitive spirit from our group,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “And that’s not indicative of who we’ve been and who we are. We took a step in the wrong direction. It was a total letdown.”
The Pelicans led by one point after the first quarter, trailed by 13 at halftime and were outscored 43-17 in the third quarter. Their margin of defeat was just two points shy of the worst in franchise history.
“We have to continue to trust,” Green said. “When the game gets hard, when teams pick up their physicality, we have to execute at even a higher level.
“We went away from that on both ends of the floor. That becomes deflating when you try to do it by yourself.”
Zion Williamson followed his season-low, 10-point performance in a quarterfinal win at Sacramento last Monday with 13 points against the Lakers.
“I’ve got to be better,” Williamson said. “I have to be more aggressive finding my shot. I have to do more things to get my team going. I think I was too laid back. I can’t do that. Defensively, I have to be better.”
Minnesota has won six games in a row after a 127-103 rout of the Grizzlies on Friday night in Memphis. The Timberwolves, at 17-4, have the best record in the league.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 20 rebounds and Mike Conley added 19 points and seven assists.
“I think that’s a strength of our team,” Gobert said of the balanced scoring. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play, a lot of guys that can score, and we have an unselfish team.”
Troy Brown Jr. scored 20 points while seeing expanded playing time because leading scorer Anthony Edwards (hip) played just four minutes before leaving the game.
“Honestly, it just feels like I’m playing my game,” Brown said. “I’m getting more shots than I normally would. They’re flying, and if I see one go in, I’m definitely going to keep shooting.”
Edwards missed two of three games before the contest in Memphis and he is questionable for Monday, as is teammate Jaden McDaniels (ankle).
Minnesota can clinch the season series with a win Monday night. Edwards had 26 points and eight assists in a 122-101 home victory Nov. 8, and Towns had 29 points and nine assists in a 121-120 road victory in which the visitors overcame a 14-point fourth quarter deficit Nov. 18.
That started the current stretch in which the Wolves have won nine of 10 games.
New Orleans played without Williamson and third-leading scorer CJ McCollum in both games. The season series concludes Jan. 3 at Minnesota.
–Field Level Media