New Orleans Pelicans finished their play-in run with an excellent win vs the Los Angeles Clippers to make the playoffs. Brandon Ingram had the biggest impact for the winning side with 30 points as the Pelicans withstood LA’s wild comeback.
Ingram finished the game with 30 points shooting 14 of 21 from the field. In a wild game with various runs from both teams, Ingram was the biggest factor in his team’s 105-101 victory in LA.
New Orleans head coach Willie Green called Ingram “the truth” in the post game presser. Ingram carried a Zion-less Pelicans with averages of 28.0 points 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in two consecutive elimination games.
“Brandon Ingram is the truth,” Green told reporters. “He just brought it. He had that look in his eye from the time we got on the plane, shootaround. He’s been locked in. He has been waiting for this moment, for this type of moment.
His preparation is off the charts. This summer he went six, seven hours a day. He believes in his teammates. He’s just all you want and more in a player, in a person.”
Since the All-Star break, the Pelicans forward led his team to a 10-2 record the times he was on the floor. He missed 11 games during that span due to injury.
The Pelicans are set to face the mighty Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. However, they have already achieved their biggest accomplishment of the year despite starting the regular season with one win in their first 13 games. McCollum explained why not making the playoffs sometimes hurt the perception around a player.
“He’s a special player. He gets to his spots. I’m just thankful — obviously I get to play alongside him and I’m happy about that, but I’m glad the world gets to see how good he truly is,” CJ McCollum said about Ingram in the post-game presser.
“I think oftentimes if you don’t make the Playoffs people kind of forget about you or underestimate your talent. Now he has the chance to play on the biggest stage, and he showed tonight how great he is.”
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