After going 3-3 in their recent 6-game homestand, the Dallas Mavericks began their 2-game road trip in Louisiana. Being hosted by a Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans, Luka Doncic and co. were the favourites to grab a win before tip-off.
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The Pelicans played much better than Jason Kidd’s boys anticipated. Despite Kyrie Irving and Doncic being in red-hot form, it was NOLA who emerged victoriously.
Due to injuries, Brandon Ingram and Luka left the contest during the 2nd & 3rd quarters, respectively.
Kai’s 4th quarter heroics managed to cut Willie Green’s boys’ 19-point lead. However, Irving’s 27/6/4 performance wasn’t enough as the Mavericks suffered a 106-113 loss.
Final in New Orleans. @Chime | #MFFL pic.twitter.com/JWqPMuYfSr
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 9, 2023
Also Read: Shannon Sharpe Commends Mavs Duo For Recording 62 Points in Win
Skip Bayless trolls Luka Doncic & Irving for getting “outclutched” by McCollum
For the Pelicans, while the likes of Trey Murphy III (16 points), Herbert Jones (14 points), and Jaxson Hayes (14 points) had valuable contributions, it was CJ McCollum who led the team to the win.
In the 34:41 minutes that he was on the floor, CJ managed to score a game-high of 32 points and also recorded 5 rebounds & 5 assists.
CJ McCollum scored 16 straight points in Q4 to lead New Orleans to the W 👀
Scorching. pic.twitter.com/2EoQAw7Z84
— NBA (@NBA) March 9, 2023
Skip Bayless, who believes that this All-Star duo of Kyrie & Luka won’t be successful, bashed the two guards for grabbing their 6th loss in 9 appearances together. Taking it to Twitter, the “UNDISPUTED” analyst wrote:
CJ outclutched Kyrie, Mr. 4th Quarter, in the 4th quarter. Luka, Mr. 3 Quarters, couldn’t finish this one because of his thigh injury. Dallas falls to 3-6 in games Kyrie and Luka have both played.
CJ outclutched Kyrie, Mr. 4th Quarter, in the 4th quarter. Luka, Mr. 3 Quarters, couldn’t finish this one because of his thigh injury. Dallas falls to 3-6 in games Kyrie and Luka have both played.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 9, 2023
Zion Williamson hypes up teammate after win
Owing to the hamstring injury he sustained back in early January, Zion sat out for the 29th straight game.
However, that didn’t prevent him from enjoying McCollum’s sensational performance.
Hyping up his teammate, the former Duke Blue Devil commended CJ. Taking it to Instagram, the southpaw wrote:
Tuff Performance, Respect
Zion hyping up CJ McCollum after that CLUTCH performance pic.twitter.com/wPXgeoTETA
— Advait Jajodia (@AdvaitJajodia) March 9, 2023
Averaging 21.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, McCollum has been leading the Pelicans in points, assists and threes this season.