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Andrew LopezESPN
New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy stated his group “deserved to lose” after two errors on the finish of regulation led to a 122-112 additional time loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon.
The Pelicans led by three with 7.eight seconds to go on the finish of regulation, and the directions from the bench had been to foul at any time when the primary Knick put the ball on the ground. That did not occur and New Orleans ended up giving up a game-tying Three-pointer that despatched the sport to the additional body.
Eric Bledsoe didn’t foul Derrick Rose on the drive and Lonzo Ball made the error of attempting to rotate to cease the drive, leaving Reggie Bullock open behind the Three-point line.
“We screwed up that total play. It wasn’t simply [Ball],” Van Gundy stated. “There have been two errors on that play. They know what they’re. We deserved to lose. While you do this, you should lose. It is not like any individual threw in a troublesome one. We deserved to lose.”
When requested concerning the drive, Bledsoe stated he “wasn’t paying consideration” and had a “lack of focus,” including that he ought to have fouled Rose as quickly as he took a dribble. It wasn’t clear if Bledsoe wasn’t paying consideration within the huddle or if he wasn’t paying consideration as soon as his man bought the ball, however the mistake proved pricey nonetheless.
Van Gundy pointed to a different Sunday afternoon recreation earlier within the season for the way the Pelicans wished to function on the ultimate play. On Feb. 21 in New Orleans, the Pelicans overcame a 24-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics. Up 118-115 with eight.Three seconds left in that recreation, Pelicans guard Josh Hart — who’s out with a torn UCL in his proper thumb — fouled Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum after Tatum’s first dribble on the perimeter.
Tatum ended up lacking each free throws and the Pelicans walked away with a 120-115 win. That wasn’t the case this time round.
“At this time was actually irritating as a result of I believed our guys performed actually, actually laborious,” Van Gundy stated. “I actually did. I believed we fought laborious. We had been proper there. And all you gotta do is execute for 7.eight seconds. You are simply supposed to come back out of the timeout, do what we’re imagined to, put the sport away, and we do not do it.”
He added: “Our lack of focus popping out of timeouts each offensively and defensively to do and execute what we’re imagined to do will not be ok. We’re ok to compete with individuals however we do not do the issues that it takes on the finish of video games to win. A part of that is the educational expertise however right this moment, no excuse in any respect right this moment. None. None.
“I do not care when you’re a senior in highschool, you possibly can execute what we had been imagined to be doing with 7.eight seconds to go. No excuse in any respect.”
Van Gundy stated he addressed the group after the sport to ensure there was “readability” if the state of affairs rises once more. Pelicans ahead Brandon Ingram stated the message was that the group must be smarter on the finish of video games and be targeted popping out of timeouts.
“We all know that is a mistake we will not make,” Ingram stated of the Bullock Three-pointer.
Zion Williamson, who scored 34 factors in his NBA Madison Sq. Backyard debut, stated the group has to study from the error.
“The message was obtained nevertheless it’s a type of issues the place you gotta be targeted,” Williamson stated. “Even once you go away the timeout, you gotta be targeted to know that after the particular person places the ball on the ground to get the fast foul. … We fought again, we had been down quite a bit, we fought again into the sport.
“I believe it was a type of issues the place everyone was taking part in laborious. No one wasn’t taking part in laborious. Everyone was taking part in laborious. You simply gotta focus and be targeted on the precise factor to do.”
The Pelicans, who trailed by as many as 15 earlier than taking the lead, fell to 25-32 with the loss and at the moment are three video games again of the 10th and last spot within the Western Convention play-in match.