Suns unable to contain Pelicans’ Davis, Mirotic in home loss

PHOENIX — Give the Phoenix Suns credit, they play hard. They just don’t play with a full roster, and that more times than not has kept this team out of the win column this season.

Of course, some more talent would help, too.

Speaking of talent, the Suns have seen first-hand the talent that is Anthony Davis.

In his first two games against the Suns, Davis had 23 and a season-high 53 points. On Friday, he scored 33 as the New Orleans Pelicans won their sixth straight over the Suns 122-103 in front of a sold-out Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Davis shot 11-of-23 from the field and 9-of-11 from the foul line to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks.

He didn’t do it alone, though.

Nikola Mirotic also had a double-double (31 points and 16 rebounds) and Jrue Holiday added 22 points.

Davis and Mirotic became just the second duo in the NBA this season to record a 30-point, 10-rebound performance for the same team, joining Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, who have done it twice.

The Suns (20-60) had their own dynamic duo.

Marquese Chriss and Josh Jackson each had 20-point games. Chriss scored a season-high 23 points, while Jackson had 22 points and 11 rebounds. It was his fifth double-double of the season.

Tyler Ulis (16 points), Dragan Bender (14) and Shaquille Harrison (13) also hit double figures.

The game was decided early.

The Pelicans (45-34) raced out to a double-digit lead five-and-half minutes in and finished the first quarter with a 39-21 advantage.

The Suns never recovered.

Playing once again without Devin Booker, Elfrid Payton and T.J. Warren due to injury plus Troy Daniels (ankle) and Alan Williams (knee), the Suns have lost 16 of 17.

THE GOOD

Making the most of their minutes, three of the G Leaguers: Harrison, Danuel House and Davon Reed, accounted for seven straight points during one second-quarter stretch. It began with House making 1-of-2 free throws and finished with Harrison hitting a reverse layup, assisted by House, by the way, following a House block of DeAndre Liggins. Harrison had eight points, House three and Reed five at halftime.

It was another good game for Chriss. He reached double figures in scoring for the ninth time in 10 games. His six third-quarter points gave him 14 entering the fourth quarter, and that’s when he really turned it on with nine points. Chriss’ 23 points marked his second 20-point game of the season and second in the last three games as he bested his previous season-high of 22 points set Sunday at Golden State.

Limited to two first-half points, Bender exploded for 12 in the third and fourth quarters combined. All 12 points came from beyond the arc. He hit back-to-back 3s in the third quarter; the latter of which brought the Suns to within single digits, 71-62, at the 4:51 mark of the third quarter. He then hit a pair from long range early in the fourth quarter. Overall, Bender shot 5-of-10 from the field, 4-of-8 from deep.

The streak(s) continues. With two steals, Jackson joined Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan as the only three rookies since 1983 with 15-plus points and 2-plus steals in at least eight straight games. In addition, Jackson joined Joel Embiid as the only rookies to score 15+ points in at least a dozen straight games over the last three seasons. Over his last 12 games, Jackson is averaging 21.8 points on 44.2 percent shooting.

THE BAD

Between Davis, Holiday and Mirotic, the Pelicans made eight 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Suns, they made eight total field goals in the first quarter. Davis hit a pair of 3s, while Holiday and Mirotic each had three. Mirotic (15 points) and Davis (13) combined for 28 of the Pelicans’ 39 first-quarter points. Those two also both grabbed six rebounds. New Orleans led by as many as 20 points in the period.

It was a rough first half for Jackson, on both ends of the floor. For starters, he missed his first eight field goal attempts. Then, at the 3:20 mark of the second quarter, he took a Jrue Holiday elbow to the face as Holiday was driving to the basket. Jackson was whistled for the foul and Holiday made 1-of-2 free throws. At halftime, Jackson was shooting just 2-of-11 from the floor for six points in 13 minutes.

Upset over the call on Jackson, and even worse that the officials didn’t even review the play, Jared Dudley started yelling at official Sean Corbin. Dudley was hit with a technical foul, his first of the season, and when he kept jawing at Corbin was ejected from the game. The loss of Dudley (0-1 FG and one rebound in six minutes) left the Suns with just nine available players for the remainder of the game.

Briefly, in the third quarter, the Suns had cut the deficit to single digits. But then in a blink of an eye, they were once again staring at a 20-point hole. The Pelican went on a 10-0 run—Holiday and Darius Miller his 3s with Mirotic adding an alley-oop layup and Davis a pair of free throws—to make it 84-64 at the 2:03 mark. Holiday had a game-best 10 points in the period plus three assists to account for 17 of the Pelicans’ 23 points.

STAT OF THE GAME

42.1: The Pelicans shot 42.1 percent (16-of-38) from 3-point range; it marked their 12th game this season making at least 15 3s — entering the season, they had only 11 such games in franchise history

HE SAID IT

“I like the way our guys are playing,” interim head coach Jay Triano said. “I think our guys are playing hard. I think there’s still too many technical mistakes. Our physical fatigue makes our mind go at times. But I can’t complain about the effort, and we’re down guys, nine active bodies really. And, they’re playing hard and trying to play the right way. We’re shooting 3s the way I want to shoot 3s. I’m pleased with our effort.”

NOTED

Ulis recorded his eighth straight game with 10-plus points, extending his longest such streak of the season.

Harrison recorded his fifth double-digit scoring game of the season and his second in as many games.

Davis recorded his 31st 30-point game of the season, second-most in NBA behind LeBron James (32).

The Pelicans swept the season series for the first time since 2007-08; they are 14-14 all-time in Phoenix.

The Suns started their 33rd different lineup of the season with Ulis-House-Jackson-Bender-and Chriss.

Booker (hand) missed his 10th consecutive game, Payton (knee) his fifth and Warren (knee) his ninth.

Tyson Chandler did not play for a 12th consecutive game; he was among the players listed inactive.

The final “Decade Night” of the season included a Booker bobblehead giveaway for the first 5,000 fans.

UP NEXT

It’s the final home game of the 2017-18 season.

The Suns host Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, April 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

The Warriors have won each of the previous three meetings this season and 14 straight in the series.

Most recently, Kevin Durant scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Warriors, who trailed by as many as 14, pulled away for a 117-107 victory at Oracle Arena on April 1.

Overall, the Suns own a franchise-record 88 home wins against the Warriors all-time.

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