New Orleans Pelicans Grapple with Phoenix Suns at Home, Fall Short in High-Scoring Duel

In a contest that showcased the offensive capabilities of both teams, the New Orleans Pelicans faced off against the Phoenix Suns at the Smoothie King Center. The Suns emerged victorious with a 123-109 scoreline, improving their season record to 23-18. Despite a valiant effort, the Pelicans now stand at 25-19 after this latest encounter.

The game was marked by an explosive start from the visiting team as they racked up an impressive 41 points in the opening quarter. The Pelicans trailed with 28 points but managed to keep pace throughout most of the game. Both teams demonstrated remarkable shooting accuracy from inside the arc, with New Orleans hitting 61 percent of their two-point attempts and Phoenix slightly behind at 60 percent.

The home team's resilience was evident as they fought to close down what became a substantial lead for Phoenix. At one point during play, New Orleans narrowed this gap significantly by going on a run that saw them outscore their opponents by ten unanswered points. However, it wasn't enough to overcome Phoenix's largest lead of 30 points.

Key players for New Orleans included those who contributed heavily to their total of 48 points in paint and capitalized on second-chance opportunities by converting seven out of eleven attempts into seventeen additional points. Despite these efforts and maintaining possession almost equally with their opponents (105.12 possessions), turnovers proved costly for New Orleans as they gave away eleven compared to ten by Phoenix.

Defensively, both teams were active around the rim; however, it was New Orleans who edged out more blocks in this matchup with five compared to three from Phoenix. Yet even this defensive effort couldn't counterbalance the offensive firepower displayed by both sides throughout four quarters of play.

Looking ahead for fans of The Pelicans is another home game scheduled against Utah Jazz on January 23rd at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans starting at 7:00 PM local time (Central Time). This upcoming match will be broadcasted locally on BSNO channel number 676-4 and can also be viewed on KJZZ for those following from afar.