Entering tonight's contest against the Jazz, shutting down a historically-great perimeter offense was high on the Pelicans’ agenda. After allowing 21 and 17 made threes in their previous bouts with Utah (both losses), the Pelicans once again allowed 17 makes on 43 shots (39.5%).
And yet, it was New Orleans who left the Smoothie King Center with the 129-124 win against a team that had won 23 of their last 26 games.
If the Pelicans were intimidated by the stalwart interior defense of Rudy Gobert and company, it didn't show. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram teamed up to wreak havoc inside the arc, combining for 52 points (26 each) on 37 shots.