The Phoenix Suns were the best team in the NBA during the regular season and the runaway top seed in the West. But for one night, New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram had his way with them.

Ingram played as well as his box score line suggested. He led the Pelicans with 37 points and 11 rebounds while being just one assist shy of completing a triple-double in his second ever playoff game.

Brandon Ingram was ready for his close-up. His Pelicans teammate Larry Nance Jr. has seen him preparing all these years. The two were teammates during Ingram's first two season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now in his sixth year, Nance knows all the hard work has paid off for BI.

“I'll say it again and again. I'll keep saying it. Win or loss, I think Brandon Ingram is the best player on the court,” said Nance Jr. after the Pelicans win.

“It's huge. It's huge. He's what, 24? His game is just expanding every single year since he's got in the league. What he's able to do as not just as a scorer, but a playmaker as well, is a proof of all the work he's put in the gym. Those hours at the gym, those unseen hours? They're being seen right now.”

Despite evening the series at one apiece, the New Orleans Pelicans are still the clear underdogs to advance. But if Brandon Ingram continues to play like the superstar that he was on Tuesday night, making a legitimate case as the best player on the court, then they definitely have a fighting chance.