The pelicans They had a race match to extend a streak that is beginning to be neither a novelty nor something random. The visitor was the Denver Nuggets and, with him, the MVP of the League, the Serbian Nikola Jokic, and not even a great match of the same served to knock down the Louisiana team. Success and courage to add the fourth victory in a row and the ninth in the last eleven games. And with ease, 121-106, to surpass that opponent with whom they were even this Sunday in the Western Conference standings.
The Nuggets They arrived with doubts and ended up giving up before the push of some grown Pelicans before their audience. But that feeling must be earned and that is where Willy Hernangómez was to blame. Faced with the impossibility of stopping Jokic with Valanciunas, the starting center, Green pulled the Spaniard, who sneaks back through the crack to play a few minutes to keep the guy in the area. The strategy worked and Willy ended up with 12+8+3. A good part of the thunderous 32+16+9 that the Serb achieved were with other defenders. The NBA squeezes and even suffocates, but Hernangómez threw everything he had to complete the best game of the season.
The best of the night was Jose Alvarado, who began to wreak havoc very early on. The first advantages were for the Nuggets thanks to Jokic and that pairing with Valanciunas from which he got what he wanted. With the entry of the substitutes and his first break, Alvarado arrived to nail four triples and a shot from two without a miss in a 20-4 run that left more than one speechless. Hernangómez entered the track with the most even score thanks to that streak by the Puerto Rican and faced a slightly rested Jokic after passing through the bench. And then came the blockade. The production of Sombor’s genius began to not be so overwhelming. Willy would throw himself on the ground, touch balls through the air and the public, who saw what was happening and appreciated his effort knowing his situation (he averages 8.8 minutes being the MVP of the EuroBasket and had only jumped to play in 9 of the 22 NOLA games), he was rewarded with constant applause. What a thrill, he would think. But stopping when you have someone like Jokic in front of you would have been a serious mistake. He did not do it. In the second time that he had, already in the second half, he even rolled up his pants and lowered his ass, that very basketball expression, to defend his opponent with all five senses and all his will. Williamson (25) was the leader and in the push of the third quarter in which the Pels left, Murphy’s dunks (12) also helped, but the main mention must go to Alvarado: 8/11 in shots from three, 4/ 8 on two-pointers and 6/7 on free throws for 38 points, the best game of his life in the NBA. And New Orleans is still partying.
