Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans are not going to be just sacrificial lambs in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs to the reigning Western Conference champions Phoenix Suns. After getting demolished in Game 1, the Pelicans got their payback right away, taking down the Suns in Game 2 Tuesday night in a 125-114 road win.
With that victory, the Pelicans just entered themselves into the record books as the first team ever in the history of the league to go under .500 or worst in the regular season and beat a team like the Suns on the road in a postseason contest, as noted by Stats by STATS:
The @PelicansNBA are the first team in NBA history to finish the regular season 10+ games under .500 and then beat a 60-win team on the road in the playoffs that year.
The Pelicans went 36-46 in the regular season and had to go through the eye of the needle AKA play-in tournament to earn a spot in the playoffs. They beat the San Antonio Spurs in the play-in to notch the no. 8 seed and rights to face arguably the best team in the NBA this season.
Brandon Ingram made sure that whatever happens the rest of the way, the Pelicans will not exit the 2022 NBA Playoffs winless, as he exploded for 37 points on 13/21 shooting in the win against the Suns.
The New Orleans Pelicans are not going to stop there. They will look to score yet another upset on Friday when they host Phoenix for Game 3 of the series.
Withe Suns hotshot Devin Booker's status for Game 3 currently up in the air and the Pelicans gaining confidence, momentum, and homecourt advantage for the next outing, what many believed to be a series that would end up 4-0 in favor of Phoenix has its complexion suddenly changed.
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