Julius Randle and Jrue Holiday rally Pelicans over Jazz
New Orleans Pelicans center Julius Randle (30) blocks a layup by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) in the second half during an NBA basketball game Monday, March 4, 2019, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
SALT LAKE CITY — Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle each scored 30 points to rally the New Orleans Pelicans past the Utah Jazz 115-112 on Monday night.
Anthony Davis had 15 points and 11 rebounds in three quarters for the Pelicans. Davis didn’t play in the fourth, but New Orleans still won its third straight game.
Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver scored 20 points apiece off the bench to lead the Jazz. Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 19 rebounds, and Donovan Mitchell had 19 points and nine assists.
Utah overcame a six-point deficit and took a 112-111 lead on Mitchell’s layup with 43.9 seconds left. Elfrid Payton answered with a layup on the other end and Randle hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining to close out a comeback win for New Orleans.
After trailing most of the way, the Pelicans finally succeeded in erasing Utah’s lead late in the fourth quarter. Randle sparked a 22-2 run with back-to-back baskets. New Orleans completed the surge by scoring on six straight possessions, capped by Randle’s layup, and took a 111-105 lead. Randle made five baskets during the run.
Utah hit 10 of 15 shots to open the game and shot 50 percent from the field in the first quarter. That helped the Jazz take control out of the gate. They raced to a 12-2 lead behind back-to-back baskets from Gobert and a three-point play from Mitchell.
Holiday kept the Jazz from pulling away early. He scored 10 points in the first quarter, including consecutive 3-pointers that cut Utah’s lead to 17-15.
The Pelicans couldn’t erase the deficit entirely, and the Jazz pulled away again during the second quarter. A four-point play from Korver ignited a 16-5 run that gave Utah another double-digit lead. Ricky Rubio finished off the spurt with a 3 off a bounce pass from Mitchell to put the Jazz up 58-41.
New Orleans rallied again during the third quarter. The Pelicans scored baskets on seven straight possessions, culminating in a dunk from Randle, to cut Utah’s lead to 78-77. Davis missed a potential go-ahead layup, and Crowder and Korver hit 3s a minute apart to keep the Jazz in front.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Frank Jackson had four points and two rebounds in his first NBA game in his home state. Jackson played high school basketball in Utah before attending Duke. . Holiday and Randle combined to score at least 50 points for the fourth consecutive game. . New Orleans scored 21 points off 18 Utah turnovers.
Jazz: Mitchell was selected Western Conference player of the week for the second time in his career after averaging 34 points on 46.6 percent shooting while leading Utah to three wins last week. . Rubio and Mitchell combined for 14 assists in the first half, but only three in the second half. . Utah outscored New Orleans 47-23 in bench points. . Joe Ingles matched his career high with 11 assists.
UP NEXT
The Pelicans host the Jazz on Wednesday.
The Jazz visit the Pelicans on Wednesday.
