No Rajon Rondo, no problem for the New Orleans Pelicans, who now have Elfrid Payton running the show for them at the point guard position. New Orleans signed Payton in the offseason on a one-year free agent deal, and the 24-year-old Louisiana native made history in his first start for the franchise.
The Pelicans demolished the Houston Rockets Wednesday by a final score of 131-112, and Payton registered a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in 37 minutes of action. By doing so, Payton became the first player in Pelicans history to record a triple-double in a season opener.
Elfrid Payton also joined the likes of LeBron James and Russell Westbrook with his triple-double feat in a different regard.
Elfrid Payton is the first player in @PelicansNBA history to record a triple-double in a season opener. #DoItBig
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) October 18, 2018
Elfrid Payton becomes the 15th player in NBA history with an opening night triple-double. Over the last 10 years, only LeBron James and Russell Westbrook recorded a triple-double in the season opener.#DoItBig #NBA #NBATwitter
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) October 18, 2018
Elfrid Payton shot 5-of-13 from the field and showed instant chemistry with Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis, who scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the road win. Davis and Payton connected on two alley-oops, a play we're going to see all season from these two.
Payton began his career with the Orlando Magic. Orlando traded him to the Phoenix Suns last season where Payton started 19 games for the Suns and averaged 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and just 20 percent from beyond the arc.
It's only one game, but Elfrid Payton looks to have found a home with the Pelicans.
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