Davis And Holiday’s Huge Nights Not Enough In Charlotte

Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis combined to score 78 points in Charlotte, but it still wasn't enough for the Pelicans to beat the Hornets.

Both Davis and Holiday had over 30 points by the end of the third quarter, and they helped get New Orleans back in the game that didn't look good early on. The Hornets jumped out to a double-digit lead at the end of the first quarter, and they were able to keep the Pelicans at bay for the majority of the game until the Pels made a run. With three minutes left, they were tied at 109-109. Charlotte pulled away at the end, knocking down free throws for a 122-113 victory.

Davis (40 points, 10 rebounds) and Holiday (38 points, 6 assists) did their part, but Toney Douglas (16 points) was the only other Pelican to show up on offense.

Aside from Davis, Holiday and Douglas, the rest of the Pelicans roster only score 19 points. On the opposite side, the Hornets had seven different players score in double figures (led by Kemba Walker’s 35) and shot 46 percent from the floor. A porous New Orleans defense only created five turnovers all game, and it was too easy for Charlotte offensively.

It was a particularly rough night for Ryan Anderson. He missed all eight of his shots from the floor and all six three point attempts. With Eric Gordon gone for the rest of the season, Anderson is one of the only true spot up shooters left on the roster. When he’s ice cold like he was in Charlotte, it puts too much pressure on the rest of the team to step up. Three points from your sixth man isn’t enough, and Douglas shouldn’t be your leading scorer off the bench.

With the loss, the Pelicans fall to 24-39, and they’re road record looks absolutely dismal (7-24). If you do the math, that means the Pels are actually a winning team (17-15) at the Smoothie King Center, but they can’t take New Orleans with them.

There are only 19 games left in the season, and the Pelicans are 7.5 games out of the eight spot in the Western Conference. To make matters worse, they've lose five of their last six games. For a team that was expected to be back in the playoffs and improving under Alvin Gentry, the frustration is surely mounting.