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The New Orleans Pelicans' winning streak came to an end on Saturday night as they were blown out 123-92 by the Charlotte Hornets on the road.
Pelicans head coach Willie Green did not look for things to blame after the loss. He decided to take it on the chin instead.
“We didn’t bring it tonight, we didn’t have it. No excuses, they kicked our butts,” Green said.
Green was not pleased with the Pelicans' lack of physicality against the Hornets, citing it as a reason why the game did not go in their favor.
“We didn’t play with any force,” Green said. “You’ve got to play with force against teams that are going to switch like they were doing. The dominoes fall when you run into action, you get the ball out of bounds quickly, you rebound, you get it up the floor quickly, you get to the paint and kick out. You gotta share the basketball. We just didn’t do a great job of those concepts tonight.”
The Pelicans' struggles also had a lot to do with their inability to slow down LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. Ball finished the game with 25 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Bridges contributed 22 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
One bright spot for the Pelicans was having star forward Zion Williamson back on the floor. Throughout 26 minutes on the floor, Williamson led all scorers with 28 points, adding 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and shot 11-20 from the field.
“He was good,” Green said on Williamson's performance. He’s attacking, he’s getting downhill, he’s getting to the basket. He did a great job rebounding, which is an area we have to improve in. Just good to get him on the floor and hopefully, he can continue to gain his rhythm.”
Another bright spot for the Pelicans is the progress of star forward Brandon Ingram toward returning from an ankle injury. Ingram has been on the road with the Pelicans recently and is aiming to get back on the floor at some point in February.
What do the Pelicans need to do differently next time?
With things not going the way the Pelicans would have hoped against the Hornets, head coach Willie Green is confident in what his squad needs to do in their next game.
“It starts with our ability to play with force and be mentally tough during difficult circumstances,” Green said. “Tonight was not our best job. Defensively, we didn’t stop the drivers from getting to the basket and it enabled them to get the shots that they wanted and we were stagnant on offense.”
The Pelicans return to action on Monday night when they take on the Toronto Raptors on the road. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
