News » not another team I’d rather go to.”

– Anthony Davis stole the show and the New Orleans Pelicans stole home-court advantage from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Davis had 35 points Pernell McPhee Jersey , 14 rebounds and four blocks, Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo won the backcourt battle, and the Pelicans held on for a 97-95 victory on Saturday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.

Holiday added 21 points, outplaying both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, and had a big blocked shot in the closing seconds as New Orleans escaped after Portland erased almost all of a 19-point deficit.

”It’s the playoffs,” Holiday said of his final block. ”A lot of excitement and a lot of energy especially in the building. Obviously, that was a really big stop and at that moment it felt good to get a stop. It felt good to know that all the hard work we put in this game, we got the win, so we did a really good job at that.”

Rondo finished with 17 assists, eight rebounds and six points.

Portland made a charge that cut it to 93-92 on McCollum’s 3-pointer just inside a minute left. Lillard missed in the lane with 15 seconds remaining with the Blazers still down one, and after Davis made two free throws, Holiday blocked Pat Connaughton’s layup with 6.3 seconds to go.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts and several players said that the play was designed for a 3-pointer, but the Pelicans successfully took those options away.

Perhaps that had something to do with Rondo knowing everything the Blazers were ready to throw at them and relaying that knowledge to his teammates.

”He’s in a different mindset,” Davis said. ”He was up all night watching film. When they were calling plays out there he was telling us what it was in our version before they had a chance to run it. He’s definitely locked in. The way he played tonight with 17 assists http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/anthony-miller-jersey , he’s just in a different mode for the playoffs.”

Lillard finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while McCollum had 19 points.

The sixth-seeded Pelicans were the only road team to win on the opening day of the NBA playoffs. Nikola Mirotic had 16 points, 11 rebounds and also blocked four shots to help Davis earn the first victory of his playoff career.

It looked like it would come easily, as the Pelicans extended a nine-point halftime lead to 69-50 on Holiday’s dunk with 4:25 left in the third quarter. It still seemed safe when Davis threw down a thunderous alley-oop slam from Rondo with 6:09 to play, letting out a scream as Portland took an 86-72 lead.

Portland’s rally came up short, but the Blazers vow to do better in Game 2 with regards to going after Davis.

”Getting to the basket, he’s around,” McCollum said. ”You know, he blocked my shot in the first quarter, maybe made some contact. But he’s always there, he’s always around roaming. But there’s no excuses. We got to play better.”

Portland’s two stars finished with just three combined free-throw attempts. McCollum says it’s on them to force the issue.

”Maybe we need to be more aggressive getting downhill,” McCollum said. ”You’ve got to figure out how the referees are reffing the game and go from there.”

TIP-INS

Pelicans: New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry is a believer in ”Playoff Rondo,” the idea of Rondo elevating his game in the postseason. ”I think there is a sense of confidence that he has Adam Vinatieri Jersey , especially this time of the year,” Gentry said. ”He’s a really bright player. One of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around. I’ve obviously had the opportunity to coach Steph (Curry), Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Grant Hill. When you start talking about the extremely smart players, he’s one of those guys. I also think he has a way of giving confidence to the other guys. He makes them believe in themselves.”

Gentry says he relishes having someone who can lead the team in the way Rondo can. ”I know it’s like an old clich锟? but it really is like having an extra assistant coach.”

Trail Blazers: Among the challenges for the Blazers in this first-round series, none ranks higher than defending Davis. Terry Stotts said that he would begin the series with Jusuf Nurkic, who did not see much time on Davis in the regular season, on the All-Star big man.

Nurkic played 24 minutes, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

In a surprise, rookie Zach Collins played 22 minutes off the Blazers bench, up from his regular- season average of 16 minutes per game.

UP NEXT

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Portland.

Three quarterbacks went in the top seven, and Josh Rosen wasn’t one of them. So yes Deion Sanders Jersey , he was “pissed off.”

The UCLA quarterback also vows to make the Browns, Giants, Jets, Broncos, Colts, Bills, Bears and 49ers pay for not drafting him. (The Browns also had the fourth overall choice.)

“There were nine mistakes made ahead of me, and I’m going to make sure, over the next decade or so, that they know they made a mistake,” Rosen said, all but dropping the mic on his final answer of the night.

The Browns selected Baker Mayfield No. 1; Sam Darnold went to the Jets at No. 3; and the Bills took Josh Allen at No. 7. The Cardinals traded up to get Rosen at No. 10.

“I was pretty pissed off when I fell and one, two and three went by, and I was really angry teams were passing on me Brandon Scherff Jersey ,” Rosen said. “I was honestly expecting to get picked at some point and have to fake a smile and pretend to be happy. But for some reason when I got picked all of that went away and it just went to straight to excitement and relief. The biggest thing was definitely motivation, and I feel determined. . . . I’m just more motivated than ever.”

Rosen did not expect to be the fourth quarterback selected, and he was asked why he thought so many quarterback-needy teams passed on him.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Rosen said. “I’m happy it happened. I’m really happy it happened. I’m glad I’m at 10. I’m glad the Cardinals came up and got me. I really think it’s a match made in heaven. I wouldn’t [change anything]. You guys might call B.S. on me, but complete honest from the bottom of my heart, there’s not another team I’d rather go to.”

While the Cardinals were happy to get Rosen, the Cardinals’ beat writers were even happier. Rosen is a gold mine, already ranking as one of the best quotes in the league.

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