The New Orleans Pelicans (20-32) ended the streak of one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the Utah Jazz (26-26). The Pelicans were down early, but closed the gap in the first quarter. The game was relatively tight the rest of the way, with the Pelicans finally getting some separation in the closing minutes. They held on for a 100-96 victory on the back of some nice defense and offensive tenacity.
As noted in the pregame, the Pelicans needed to start going to their big men when appropriate, and they did. Ajinca and Asik average a total of 29 minutes per game, and they played a total of 38 minutes tonight, and they played well, adding 12 points on 9 shots and 19 rebounds.