The New Orleans Pelicans (17-14) let Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies “happen again” in the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. CJ McCollum talked about the “bizarre” game in the postgame press conference, but there are not many excuses available for a team that is not good enough to learn the same hard lessons twice.

“I think this was the most bizarre game I’ve ever been a part of for sure,” McCollum said. “The combination of reviews and the way it finished. Two reviews under one second. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in my life.”

This game should have never gone to overtime for several reasons. The Pelicans were ahead by 14 points with 11 minutes to play and were still up 10 with 6:35 on the clock. New Orleans led by one point with 1.5 seconds left in regulation. Then came the three official reviews and a 0.4-second play that led to free throws by Jaren Jackson Jr., who made the first but missed the second.

Don't put all the blame on the referees. Morant (31 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) deserves plenty of credit, but the Pelicans know they let another win get away. A failure to execute crunch-time plays and missed free throws is starting to become a trend.

Pelicans failed on the last play

This last play in regulation is getting all of the headlines, but Jaren Jackson Jr. should have never had a chance to run free toward the rim. Jonas Valanciunas was out of position as well. Valanciunas should have either been on the bench or standing in the restricted area. Valanciunas is a wily veteran but not spry enough to run and then jump with the younger Jackson. That's a spot for Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Dyson Daniels.

“I take responsibility for that,” Willie Green said. “In hindsight, they didn't have enough time to throw it back to the in-bounder. So, we should have taken a guy off the ball and just tracked whomever, and stay at the rim. If they throw it to the rim, we have a guy there, plus we have four guys. That's on me. That's an area where I need to get better.”

But this loss should have never come down to the final play. The clutch minutes were not pretty either. McCollum said the team's offense was “congested” just hours after suggesting more motions to free up easier looks.

Rough clutch minutes

New Orleans had 20 in the fourth in a weekend home loss to the Houston Rockets and just 23 against the Grizzlies. The Pelicans again squandered another double-digit lead in the final frame.

“Down the stretch in the fourth, I think we got a little congested,” CJ McCollum explained. “Some tough (two-pointers) and not a lot of spacing. We've got to do a better job of setting each other up by setting screens and cutting hard. Trying to play off misses. I think the last three minutes we were not getting any stops either so we are walking the ball up.”

The veteran guard is “going to the film. We’ve got to do better at an organizational standpoint. We’re putting the ball in our best players’ hands; it’s just about making sure the spacing is right and who we want to be the next pass just little stuff like that. Thought we got some decent looks and some of the possessions were awful and just figuring out our matchups.”

“For three and a half quarters, our game-plan discipline was at a high level. We were executing. As the game started to get a little close, they upped their level of physicality and we started to turn the ball over and let them right back into the game,” Green lamented.

The Pelicans have issues beyond crunch time. They've scored 27 points or fewer in eight of the last 12 quarters. New Orleans had just 19 in the first against Memphis, so the “three and a half quarters” comment does not hold up to scrutiny. The problems are very apparent in the final few minutes, but there are mistakes to be corrected from the opening tip.

Coaches preaching same message after tough home losses

The Pelicans coughing up two losses to Memphis in the past week has given the Grizzlies life in the NBA Playoff picture far sooner than anyone expected. Memphis (10-19) is now only 4.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final NBA Play-In Tournament spot. The Pelicans are hovering at the top of the NBA Play-In at seventh, but the schedule is about to get a lot tougher in January. The message remains the same after the third straight home loss by two points or fewer.

Green said the Pelicans must “own it. We still have games in front of us…This is where we have to grow. We have to learn to get to our spots. Execute with force and pace. Make solid passes. Then when we get to the free-throw line, make our free throws. For three and a half quarters, we did it. For the last five, six minutes, we didn’t…It’s our execution. It’s our turnovers. It’s not one guy. It’s all of us. We have to learn from this. We’re in it together. We have to figure it out together.”