“The series doesn’t start until a team wins on the road.” — Alvin Gentry tonight in his postgame media session.
Well, the New Orleans Pelicans have thrown down the gauntlet to the Portland Trail Blazers. In the opening game of their first round playoff series, the Pelicans managed to hold onto a very precarious lead late and walk away with a resilient 97-95 victory.
Resilient.
That’s a word I’ve often used to describe this Pelicans squad during the regular season and for good reason. 30 of the team’s 48 wins came during clutch moments — games in which the point differential was five points or less during the final five minutes of fourth quarters and any overtime periods.