The New Orleans Pelicans finished off a four-game sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers with a 131-123 victory in Game 4 of their first-round NBA Playoffs series Saturday in New Orleans. With a late push, the Pelicans covered the spread as 7-point favorites, and even with a high over/under of 250, the game finished over the total.
The Pelicans paid series moneyline bettors +140 for their series victory. They move on to face either the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs. The Warriors are ahead 3-0 in that series and are the likely opponent. Odds for that series and its first game will be released as soon as it is set at the BetDSI Sportsbook. The Pelicans would be sizable underdogs in a series against the defending champions.
Pulling away late
New Orleans led most of the way and stretched its lead to 100-87 by the end of the third quarter. But the Blazers made a comeback, and most of the fourth quarter was played within five points. That made it look as if Portland would at least cover the plus-7 spread, but a late cold stretch and some Pelicans free throws gave New Orleans the victory, the sweep, and a 4-0 record against the spread in the series.
It’s the first playoff series victory for the franchise as the New Orleans Pelicans; they were the New Orleans Hornets when they recorded the only other playoff series victory in franchise history in 2008.
The AD and Jrue show
Anthony Davis scored 47 points, including 33 in the second half, and added 11 rebounds for the Pelicans. He shot 15 of 24 from the field. Jrue Holiday was nearly as productive, scoring 41 points on 15-of-23 shooting with 8 assists. Rajon Rondo had 16 assists and Nikola Mirotic had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
C.J. McCollum had the best game of the series by a Portland player, scoring 38 points on 15-of-22 shooting. Al-Farouq Aminu added 27 points and all five Trail Blazers starters scored in double figures. But the Blazers were undone by New Orleans’ extremely hot shooting (57.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from 3-point range) and a large disparity at the free-throw line. Portland was 13 of 16 from the charity stripe but New Orleans was a whopping 32 of 39.
