Portland Trail Blazers (40-38) beat New Orleans Pelicans (25-52) 118-106 at home on Thursday, April 2.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Trail Blazers struck first, taking the opening quarter 35-32 and a 3-point lead after one. The Pelicans moved in front with a 33-25 second quarter, carrying a 5-point lead into halftime.
The Trail Blazers won the third 28-16 to turn the game around, taking a 7-point lead into the fourth. The Trail Blazers took the fourth 30-25; the Trail Blazers finished the job for a 118-106 regulation win.
What decided it
The Trail Blazers took better care of the ball, turning it over on 13.1% of possessions compared with 18.5% for the Pelicans. The Trail Blazers got more from their shots, finishing at 56.5% effective field-goal shooting compared with 50.6% for the Pelicans. Those extra possessions were crucial.
The Pelicans did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 25 against 15.2. The Trail Blazers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 101 possessions per team, the Trail Blazers produced 117.2 points per 100 possessions to 105.3 for the Pelicans.
The Pelicans' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 36-23.
Who made the difference
Jrue Holiday was the game's biggest individual force for POR: 27 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast on 10-22 shooting. His Game Score of 20.4 led everyone. His team was +14 with him on the floor.
Jeremiah Fears led the Pelicans with 21 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast on 7-10 shooting, good for a 17.9 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Trail Blazers about a 76% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Portland Trail Blazers lead 5-2.
The Trail Blazers are now 40-38, and the Pelicans are 25-52. The Trail Blazers last five before this game: W-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.