Late-game heroics from Jose Alvarado and Keion Brooks Jr. helped the New Orleans Pelicans escape with a 98-94 win over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Trailing by one with 31.1 seconds remaining, Alvarado drove into the lane and made a reverse layup as he was fouled. His ensuing made free throw put New Orleans on top 96-94.
On the next possession, DaQuan Jeffries attempted an inbounds pass across the court to KJ Simpson, but his pass soared out of bounds. Alvarado then made his away into the paint once again, dumping off a pass for a Brooks lay-in to seal the Pelicans’ victory.
Brooks scored 17 points to lead a balanced scoring effort for New Orleans (21-54), while Antonio Reeves scored 16. Kelly Olynyk had 13 points, Alvarado and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 12 apiece, and Karlo Matkovic added 10.
The Pelicans played without head coach Willie Green, who missed the game because of personal reasons. Assistant James Borrego, a former Charlotte head coach, filled in.
Miles Bridges scored 20 points for the Hornets (18-56), Nick Smith Jr. had 19 and Jusuf Nurkic added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which lost its fifth straight.
Reeves made three straight 3-pointers to start the Pelicans’ third-quarter scoring and pull them within 54-52. Nurkic scored seven points to help the Hornets extend the lead to 10 points. Brooks scored five points, including a 3-pointer that pulled New Orleans within one, but Charlotte pushed the lead to five.
Lester Quinones made a 3-pointer and Brooks converted a three-point play for the Pelicans to take a three-point lead before Wendell Moore Jr. beat the buzzer with a tip-in that pulled the Hornets within 74-73 at the end of the third quarter.
Charlotte tied the score twice before Yves Missi made a layup and Reeves followed with a 3-pointer to give New Orleans an 86-81 lead. KJ Simpson answered with a 3-pointer and the Hornets got within one on three occasions before Smith hit a long 3-pointer to give Charlotte a 94-93 lead with 40 seconds left.
Bridges scored seven points, nine teammates scored two each and Charlotte led 25-21 at the end of the period.
The Pelicans cored the first five points of the second quarter to take their only lead of the half. Bridges scored five points during a 15-4 run that gave the Hornets a 40-30 lead. They extended the lead to a high of 13 points before taking a 52-43 lead into halftime.
–Field Level Media
