The New Orleans Pelicans had good intentions. They returned to practice after the All-Star break earlier than teams typically do. Willie Green inserted Josh Richardson into a starting lineup that had been struggling, moving Trey Murphy to the bench. But those choices didn’t translate into a victory.
In a game that saw the Toronto Raptors lead for the vast majority, the Pelicans fell by a final score of 115-110. Brandon Ingram, though, nearly wrote a different ending despite the team constantly needing to battle uphill.
Ingram finished with a season-high 36 points but really caught fire down the stretch, pouring in 11 points over the final 4:22 of regulation.