LAS VEGAS – New Orleans’ summer league team won five of six games in the desert, with its unbeaten streak finally coming to an end Sunday vs. Phoenix. The Pelicans were Las Vegas’ last squad to lose its first game, boasted two All-Summer League performers and played perhaps the most entertaining brand of basketball in the 24-team league. From a bigger-picture standpoint, the summer Pelicans also provided a glimpse at what’s in store for this fall, when new head coach Alvin Gentry installs his high-octane system, featuring two-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis and numerous other young talent.
With a cast of unproven personnel, the summer Pelicans regularly racked up 90-plus points, in a league with 40-minute games (instead of the NBA’s regulation 48).