Pelicans at Warriors Reactions: The good, the bad and the Lonzo Ball

The shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans almost pulled off a wild second-half comeback on Friday night, falling to the Warriors in the final minutes 125-122.

Trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, the Pelicans slowly chipped away at the lead in the third and fourth quarters before eventually taking the lead on a Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3-pointer with 2:12 left.

From there, the two sides went back-and-forth down the stretch with Eric Paschall putting Golden State ahead before Alexander-Walker’s putback with 25.9 seconds left put New Orleans ahead again. Jordan Poole gave the Warriors the lead for the final time with a layup with 21.4 left.

Alexander-Walker finished with 30 points, Naji Marshall had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Jaxson Hayes had 19. Poole scored 38 points for Golden State.

The Good: The fight

The Pelicans could have easily folded in the first half on Friday night, trailing by 18 points at halftime. Instead, they buckled down and not only made it a tight contest late but put themselves in a position to win multiple times. It wasn't the prettiest performance but it was a gutsy one. Multiple players had career nights, including Wenyen Gabriel with 14 points, Naji Marshall with his 20 points and 13 rebounds and Jaxson Hayes with his 19 points. It took a team effort and it nearly ended in a memorable comeback win.

The Bad: James Johnson's injury

The one thing the Pelicans wanted to avoid on the night was a major injury. The final two games are meaningless with the playoffs out of the picture and a better lottery spot nearly impossible. That made James Johnson's injury in the second half particularly frustrating and disappointing. Johnson has been a pleasant surprise for the Pelicans in the final months of the season but went down with a seemingly non-contact knee injury that did not seem good. For his sake more than anything, let's hope this was a minor injury for Johnson.

Lonzo Ball: Out for the rest of the season?

Lonzo Ball once again sat out on Friday and it's likely he, along with Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Zion Williamson, will not return this season. https://twitter.com/cclark3000/status/1393356605006262273

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