Jrue Holiday and Toumani Camara combined to knock down 13 of Portland’s 20 made 3-pointers and the Blazers rallied in the second half to hold off the visiting New Orleans Pelicans 118-106 on Thursday.
Holiday led Portland (40-38) with 27 points, connecting on seven of his 15 3-point attempts — the last of which effectively put away the win. Holiday came down with his fifth and final rebound on the defensive end after a Herb Jones miss, then deep into the shot clock, created space on a step-back from the top of the key.
Holiday’s ensuing triple with 81 seconds remaining pushed the Portland lead to an insurmountable 11 points. The Blazers, who hold the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings, have won three straight and five of six.
The veteran and former Pelican Holiday combined with Camara, who scored 23 points, and Deni Avdija with 24 points to produce all but 42 of Portland’s scoring. Scoot Henderson added 14 and Matisse Thybulle came off the bench to notch 13.
While the Blazers did not see much scoring from other contributors, Robert Williams III came on in reserve duty to grab nine rebounds. Portland also had seven players record at least one steal, led by Camara’s four.
The Blazers’ turnover creation turned the tide in the third quarter. New Orleans (25-52) went into halftime with a 65-60 lead, but the Pelicans committed eight of their 19 turnovers in the third period.
Portland outscored New Orleans in the frame 28-16, building a lead it never relinquished.
New Orleans remained within striking distance thanks in part to Jeremiah Fears’ team-high 21 points. Fellow reserve Derik Queen added 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Trey Murphy III finished with 19 points and matched Dejounte Murray’s team-high of eight rebounds. Murray finished with just nine points, however, as Portland also limited fellow Pelicans starter Zion Williams to 15 points, more than six fewer than his season average.
The loss marked New Orleans’ sixth straight.
–Field Level Media
