New Orleans Pelicans’ ‘disastrous’ 4th quarter leads to historic meltdown against Phoenix Suns

NEW ORLEANS – During three quarters on Friday night, things were going in the direction of the New Orleans Pelicans against the Phoenix Suns.

The Pelicans had an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, and their offense hummed at 102 points in the opening 36 minutes. But the matches last 48 minutes. And the last 12 were definitely the ones the Pelicans would soon like to forget.

The lead evaporated in four minutes. Then, not even four minutes later, the Suns were in double digits. When the final horn sounded, the Suns happily walked off the pitch with a 132-114 win, as the Pelicans walked to their locker room in a daze, trying to figure out what had just happened.

According to a study by the Elias Sports Bureau, the 18-point loss was the NBA’s biggest in the Stopwatch Age (since 1954-55) for a team that entered the fourth quarter in double digits.

So, what happened?

“I saw Chris Paul take control of the basketball game,” said Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.

Paul finished with 15 points, 19 assists and was plus-28 in the fourth quarter – and he didn’t even play 10 minutes. The veteran point guard helped the Suns take control and has never looked back.

“The man is orchestrating there. He knows what’s going on on the ground before it even happens,” said Suns guard Devin Booker. “With him, the game is never out of reach. The game is never over until the horn sounds. He did a good job guiding us, keeping our cool throughout the game.

“In this fourth quarter it’s a work of art. The way he separated their defense and made plays for the others and at the same time scored when needed.”

Paul was apparently three steps ahead of anything the Pelicans wanted to do in the fourth quarter. His 3-point drop to Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball with 4:41 left seemed like the dagger to ward off New Orleans. He came up the court with his teammates chasing him, as Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy called a time out to try to get something back in the dying minutes.

However, contrary to what social media was suggesting at the time, Paul didn’t shout “I own this place.”

“I said I know this place, I know this place,” said Paul, who played in New Orleans for the first six seasons of his career. “I know it. I know it. I spent some of the best years of my life playing here in New Orleans.”

As the Suns searched for a way to secure the victory, the Pelicans had to try to figure out how they let the game slip away.

“Just being in the game, I think we don’t get a little demoralized saves on the offensive end,” Ball said. “Seeing them hit 3s back to back, we didn’t have any ball movement or good shots in the fourth quarter. It only got worse.”

Aside from the 3-point dam that Phoenix sent to New Orleans, the Pelicans were also sloppy with the basketball. After committing just seven turnovers in the first three quarters, the Pelicans spat it out six times in the first six minutes, leading Phoenix to 12 points.

It’s a problem that has plagued New Orleans this season. With Friday’s loss, New Orleans drops to 12-9 this season in games where they had a double-digit lead. That’s the most loss after leading in double digits in the NBA this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

“The problem is, when the chaos continues, we have to figure out how to settle down,” Ingram said. “We have to be able to adapt during the game.

“Whatever the defensive plan, all we want to do on the offensive end to make our team the best team is what we have to do. After these losses, it’s frustrating. We don’t have much to say. Coaches don’t have much to say. much to say. Just watch the movie and try to be better tomorrow. “

Van Gundy said he doesn’t think his team’s problem is age.

“A lot of teams in this league have quarterbacks like that,” Van Gundy said. “I’m never going to throw the young card in there. We’re a basketball team with really talented people, and we didn’t get the job done in the fourth quarter.”

He called it a “disastrous neighborhood,” however. And it was. The minus-29 point gap was the largest for the Pelicans of any quarter in franchise history.

“They hit us with reapers at the end and then it snowballed,” Van Gundy added.

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said there was only one way to deal with such a loss.

“Really, the thing for us is to learn from it,” said the 20-year-old. “Honestly, I think it’s the best thing we can do. Learn from it.”