Pelicans recap: Short-handed Pelicans can’t complete comeback vs. 76ers
Facing an already difficult task of taking on the top team in the Eastern Conference on the road, the Pelicans announced Friday that Zion Williamson is out indefinitely with a fractured finger on his left hand.
Without Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Steven Adams, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Josh Hart, the Pelicans’ second unit put in a great performance and Jaxson Hayes had a career night to erase a second half deficit, but New Orleans spoiled a chance to steal the game on the final possession of the game.
The Pelicans trailed by 16 points to start the second half, but outscored the 76ers 37-18 in the third period, with Wenyen Gabriel and Kira Lewis Jr. combining to go on a 10-1 run in the final 1:35 in the third to give New Orleans the lead.
The final minute of the game was frantic, with crucial turnovers by both teams. A rare eight-second call with 10.7 remaining gave the Pelicans, down 109-107, a chance to win the game – but a bad pass from Eric Bledsoe sealed the win for the Sixers.
Joel Embiid contains Eric Bledsoe downhill, forces the pass and it leads to a turnover. Sixers win. pic.twitter.com/2NmkHtEE7f
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) May 8, 2021
The good: Jaxson Hayes' big night
The Pelicans should not have been in this game given the relative strength of each team and New Orleans' injury woes, but still put themselves in a position to steal a win in Philly that would have been huge in the playoff race. Hayes was brilliant on both ends of the floor, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and three huge blocks.
The bad: A missed opportunity
The Pelicans entered Friday's game just 1.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs, a team mired in a five-game losing streak. Very few fans and analysts would have expected the Pelicans to beat the 76ers - but had the team executed on the final possession and stunned the Philly crowd, the result would have gone a long way toward securing a spot in the play-in tournament. Without Zion Williamson for an extended period, the Pelicans' chances to take over the No. 10 seed are slim, but they're still in the running with five games remaining in the regular season.
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