When Brandon Ingram opened the scoring with a 3-pointer in Josh Hart’s face, many probably thought that tonight was going to be different.
Slow starts have plagued the Pelicans of late. They haven’t enjoyed a decent lead after 12 minutes since the loss to the Lakers.
However, that bucket proved to be a mirage. After building a 10-4 lead, the Trail Blazers went on a 20-8 run.
The hits just kept on coming.
The Pelicans went on to give up seven offensive rebounds for nine second chance points in the first quarter, and in every ensuing quarter, they did something else to stab themselves in the foot.