Kayla Johnson, Justin Tinsley, Tesfaye Negussie & Terrika Foster-Brasby weigh in on the NBA playoff drama, predict who goes No. 1 in the NFL draft, share their thoughts on Adrien Broner's comments and more. Plus, actor Omar Epps joins the show!
Portland GM Neil Olshey: "You don't take four games and overreact and diminish what you've accomplished over 82 games...I would rather trust the team that I saw over 82 games than the team I saw over four games."
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry opened his postgame press conference by thanking Kobe Bryant — since guard Jrue Holiday was wearing Kobe 1 shoes when he barely kept his toes in bounds in a critical moment late in the game. ... Gentry also thanked his own megastar, Anthony Davis, who scored a career playoff high 47 points Saturday to finish off the Blazers in Game 4. "In a close-out game and with the magnitude of the situation, this was probably the best game he's played since I've been here," Gentry said. "He just was not gonna let us lose."
Anthony Davis scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, and the New Orleans Pelicans completed a first-round playoff sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers with a 131-123 victory on Saturday.
It's over. Pelicans complete the sweep with a 131-123 win over Portland -- as Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday become the first pair of teammates to score 40-plus points in a playoff game since LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in 2016. ... Before that, no duo had done it since Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose in 2000.
Redeemed by the replay center which showed that he did not step on the baseline on the previous possession, Jrue Holiday hit a back-breaking jumper seconds later to give New Orleans a 129-123 cushion. Holiday has 41. The crowd is delirious. A sweep appears imminent.
The Pelicans' "Big 2" of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday sharing their finest moment yet in Game 4 of their series against the Blazers. Holiday now has 39 points to match Davis' 45 as New Orleans leads 127-121. 1:09 away from the series sweep.
Anthony Davis is feeling the moment and refusing to let his team lose. Davis has been epic throughout the second half. He drained a three pointer with 4:33 and dramatically held his follow through in the air as the ball went through the hoop. Twice he has cleaned up Jrue Holiday misses with powerful dunks.
Thunderous put-back dunk by Anthony Davis gives him 43 points on the night (way past his career playoff high of 36). But the Blazers aren't going away, as C.J. McCollum is close to matching him with 36 points. We might have three 40-point scorers in this game, with Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday at 35 with 3:08 remaining.
Anthony Davis has scored a playoff high 41 points and his team has needed every one as the lead has been trimmed to 119-115.
C.J. McCollum has 34 points on the night and seven in the fourth quarter as Portland has closed within 112-111 with five minutes remaining -- especially impressive since he drew his fourth foul early in the third quarter.
Jrue Holiday calmly drains back to back midrange jumpers to keep Blazers at bay. But it's a Holiday miss that leads to a ferocious Anthony Davis dunk that gives the Pelicans a six point advantage. 7 minutes even on the clock. Davis leads with 35. Holiday also has registered his second 30 point game is the series with 33. 110-104 New Orleans.
Blazers won't go away quietly. They started the fourth quarter with a 15-4 run to climb within two points. But back-to-back jumpers by Jrue Holiday stopped the bleeding. Holiday has 33 points as the Pelicans lead 108-104 with less than eight minutes left.
Blazers showing fight cut the lead from 15 to 6 with 9:37 to play. Pelicans lost focus and Coach Alvin Gentry is letting them know it during a much needed time out. Gentry's time outs have refocused his team throughout this series. They will need to lock in to hold off a Portland team that suddenly sees a path to game 5.
Anthony Davis made one thing perfectly clear with his 19 point third quarter explosion. The Pelicans have no intention to make the 6 hour flight to Portland tonight. Davis has 33 points and New Orleans is up 100-87 at the end of three.
This looks more like the New Orleans team we have seen in the first 3 games of this series. Anthony Davis is diving down the lane with little resistance and has scored 13 in the 3rd. Jrue Holiday's dagger 3 extended the lead to 87-72 and Nikola Mirotic has begun to assert himself for the first time this afternoon. Portland will need to dig deep to keep this series alive. Wonder what was said at halftime in the Pelicans locker room.
Anthony Davis starting to take over in the third quarter, with 13 points in the first eight minutes of the second half as the Pelicans have widened their lead to 84-72.
When your team is down 3-0 in a series, you throw out conventional wisdom. Blazers coach Terry Stotts has seen two starters: C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic each pick up his fourth personal foul in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Neither player was subbed out of the game. Blazers call time out, trailing 71-62 as New Orleans has its biggest lead of what's been a tightly contested Game 4.
Anthony Davis ends New Orleans' three-pointer drought by draining his first three-point attempt of the game -- and he's now up to 21 points as the Pelicans have opened their biggest lead of the game over Portland, 71-62, with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Pelicans have made just 4 of 15 three-pointers overall.
Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo already has his third double-digit assist game of the series with his 10th assist early in the third quarter. And Jrue Holiday is now the game's leading scorer with 20 points after yet another drive to the basket as New Orleans leads 66-60.
C.J. McCollum is the leading scorer so far in Game 4 of Blazers-Pelicans -- but he just got hit with his fourth foul just two minutes into the third quarter. Losing him would be a big blow for Portland.
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 49 | 33 | .598 | - | W1 |
| Oklahoma City | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1 | W3 |
| Utah | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1 | L1 |
| Minnesota | 47 | 35 | .573 | 2 | W3 |
| Denver | 46 | 36 | .561 | 3 | L1 |
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(15) | Justin Jackson | SF | North Carolina |
| 1(20) | Harry Giles | PF | Duke |
| 1(26) | Caleb Swanigan | PF | Purdue |
| YEAR | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 49 | 33 | .598 |
| 2016-17 | 41 | 41 | .500 |
| 2015-16 | 44 | 38 | .537 |
| 2014-15 | 51 | 31 | .622 |
| 2013-14 | 54 | 28 | .659 |
