Alvin Gentry may someday look back fondly at Friday’s win, as the 500th of his NBA head coaching career. He and his team would also love to be able to remember it as the game that vaulted the Pelicans into a serious push for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
For the second time in 11 days, the Pelicans built a huge lead over Memphis and prevailed, this time not even letting the Grizzlies make a fourth-quarter push, as was the case in a Martin Luther King Day matchup. Gentry became the 33rd coach in NBA history to notch 500 career victories, as New Orleans breezed to a one-sided victory over eighth-place Memphis.