Jrue Holiday’s postseason production is providing Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis with a more comfortable margin for error ??? and has left
Portland with precious little.
Holiday’s 54 points
Hayden Hurst Jersey , 16 assists and slew of defensive successes in the first two games are big reasons why the sixth-seeded Pelicans hold a surprising 2-0
series lead over the third-seeded Trail Blazers as they prepare for Game 3
Thursday night in New Orleans.
“Playoff Jrue, I guess,” Davis quipped after Holiday scored 33 – including a late, deep 3-pointer – in the Pelicans’ Game 2 triumph in Portland on Tuesday
night. “He’s in a different mode.”
Philadelphia visits Miami in one of two other Game 3s on Thursday night, while the Spurs’ return to San Antonio after a pair of double-digit losses at
defending champion Golden State.
Pelicans general manager Dell Demps bet big on Holiday on the first day of free agency last summer, giving the 27-year-old guard a five-year contract worth
about $126 million. But if the postseason is where players really earn their
money, then the Pelicans’ Holiday spending could very well be worth it.
Holiday helped preserve New Orleans’ Game 1 victory with a leaping steal in transition during the final minutes, followed by a block in the final seconds.
Those plays were prime examples of why Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry has asserted
Holiday is one of the best two-way players in the NBA.
“We ask him to guard the best perimeter player and we ask him to do it while we’re also wanting him to get 20 points,” Gentry said, noting that Holiday has
had to take turns guarding both members of Portland’s prolific starting
backcourt, guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
“He can get to the basket against just about anybody that there is. His outside shot has really improved,” Gentry added. “He’s very confident in what
he’s doing and the way he’s playing.”
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TRAIL BLAZERS AT PELICANS
New Orleans leads 2-0. Game 3, 9 P.M., NBA TV.
NEED TO KNOW: The Pelicans were no better at home (24-17) during the regular season than on the road (24-17)
Carlton Davis Youth Jersey , which gives Portland hope. “We’ve won on their floor before and we feel like we’re capable of doing the same thing they did to
us,” Portland’s Lillard said. However, the atmosphere could be different for New
Orleans’ first home playoff game since 2015.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo , who had 17 assists in Game 1 and was one assist shy of a triple-double in Game 2.
INJURY UPDATE: Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic was limited to only 15 minutes in Game 2 because of a left leg contusion, while forward Evan Turner is
questionable with a right toe contusion. Pelicans forward Nikola Mirotic twisted
his right ankle late in Game 2. He has not been scratched, but his effectiveness
remains to be seen.
PRESSURE IS ON: Portland guards Lillard and McCollum, who have been inconsistent in the series and will be desperate to prevent the Blazers from
falling into a 0-3 hole. “We don’t want to be in this position … but it should
be fun and we should accept that challenge,” Lillard said. “If not, it could be
a quick series.”
