Jrue Holiday Decided The Pelicans Would Win (And They Did)

The Pelicans went up 2-0 on the Blazers in their first-round series Tuesday night with a 111-102 road win. They did this thanks in part to main man Anthony Davis—who picked up a 22-point double-double—but mostly because point guard Jrue Holiday took the game over and willed the Pelicans to a narrow victory with a smorgasbord of spectacular offensive plays (including this slam).

Holiday had a game-high 33 points to go with nine assists, and he was the dominant presence all night. But his coolest moment came with two minutes to play in the fourth, with the Pelicans up just two. Nikola Mirotić bricked an off-balance three, but Holiday battled his way through three different Blazers to steal the offensive rebound. He proceeded to hold the ball for most of the shot clock, then step up to the arc and calmly drain a crushing triple.

The Blazers never got within a possession after that shot, and because of Holiday’s work, the Pelicans now get to take a commanding series advantage back to New Orleans.