For just the second time in their 16-year history, the New Orleans Pelicans are headed to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
New Orleans advances out of the first round with a 131-123 win in Game 4 over the Portland Trail Blazers. Saturday’s game may not have been as large of a blowout as Game 3 — indeed the game could have gone either way late in the fourth quarter — but the Pelicans did something more impressive than beating Portland by a million points: they absorbed each and every one of the Blazers’ best shots and still managed to eliminate Damian Lillard and company in a grand sweep!