Playing with a severely shorthanded roster, New Orleans attempted to author a "Rocky"-like upset Tuesday in the location of the old boxing movies, but the Pelicans couldn’t quite match the 76ers for 48 minutes. In the City of Brotherly Love, host Philadelphia finally staved off New Orleans with a fourth-quarter surge, after what had been an extremely tight game for three-plus quarters.
Despite being without fourth-fifths of their most common and effective starting lineup, the scrappy Pelicans played the Sixers evenly into the final stanza, led by season-best performances from their fill-in starting shooting guard and center.
“No moral victories (in the NBA),” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said of his team’s performance, “but we all are extremely proud of what our group did.