Brandon Ingram catches fire in second half, Pelicans clamp down on defense to beat Raptors

TAMPA, Fla. — Even during normal times, NBA head coaches have a never-ending list of duties. They draw up Xs and Os, and they manage big personalities. They have multiple media obligations a day, and must have a feel for when to push their teams and when to let up.

The added stress of guiding a team through 72 games during a pandemic only ratchets up the difficulty level. Those are the circumstances under which Stan Van Gundy’s time as Pelicans head coach is beginning.

“You’ve just got to be flexible,” Van Gundy said.

On Wednesday, Van Gundy’s Pelicans showed the fight he is hoping to instill in them. They got behind by double-digits early in the second half but found a way to beat the Toronto Raptors 113-99 at Amalie Arena.

Early on, the Pelicans were turnover-prone, and they couldn’t hit free throws. They still found a way to beat one of the teams that’s perennially near the top of the Eastern Conference.

“I would say that we fought very hard in a game that was very, very frustrating,” said Van Gundy, who got his first win since April 2018. “We were turning the ball over. We were in foul trouble. Not a lot was going right for us. We hung in there and kept fighting. We made enough plays and enough shots to pull away. I was happy with our resilience in the game.”

Brandon Ingram had 24 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. He hit three 3-pointers, and as a team, the Pelicans connected on 19 of 42 looks from distance. Their outside shooting allowed them to overcome issues in other areas.

“I do think we have a number of guys who are capable of shooting the basketball,” JJ Redick said. 

New Orleans had 24 turnovers. It hit 10 of 20 free throws. It didn’t matter thanks to a second-half push.

Early in the third quarter, Van Gundy ran onto the court and called an exasperated timeout when Ingram committed a turnover that led to a Toronto layup. At that point, Toronto led by 11.

After that timeout, the Pelicans punched back. Ingram began finding teammates all over the court. And just before the buzzer sounded to end the quarter, he connected on a 3 that increased the Pelicans’ lead to nine. New Orleans wound up winning the third 38-22.

Ingram scored 19 points in the second half. Fellow forward Zion Williamson chipped in with 15 points.

A Redick 3-pointer increased New Orleans’ lead to 14 with 5:15 remaining. The veteran sharpshooter hit six 3-pointers off the bench en route to 23 points.

As a team, the Pelicans were able to come up with 13 steals and seven blocks. Center Steven Adams had four steals and two blocks. He looked spry in his first game as a Pelican.

“He was great defensively,” Van Gundy said. “He saved a couple of plays where our rotations were terrible, and people were wide-open, and he was able to basically defend two guys on his own. He was tremendous on the defensive end of the floor.”

The Pelicans played swarming defense in the second half. They limited the Raptors to 42.7% shooting. 

The Pelicans might not have played as clean of a basketball game as Van Gundy would’ve liked, but their toughness was undeniable. It was an impressive start to the Van Gundy era. 

“One of the things I’ve talked about a lot with my teams over the years is you have to learn without losing,” Van Gundy said. “What really tends to happen is if those 24 turnovers turn into a loss, guys feel bad about it, they want to correct it. But a lot of times when you win, you sort of let it go. You have to learn as a group not to tolerate anything you wouldn’t tolerate in defeat.”