Julius Randle went off for a career-high 45 points on 20-of-34 shooting but it was in vain as the Pelicans, without Anthony Davis, suffered their fifth straight loss falling to the Portland Trail Blazers by 12.
Here's a look at this shot chart from the game:
In fact, in the last 30 days, Randle is among the top 10 total points scorers in the league . His career-high is also interesting for another reason:
Julius Randle set a new career-high with 45 points on Friday - the most in a game by a Pelicans player besides Anthony Davis since Jamal Mashburn in 2003.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 16, 2019
📊 https://t.co/bIHL7ORKJq pic.twitter.com/bicOR1TLu0
The former Laker also registered 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
The Pelicans' had their point guard Elfrid Payton record a triple-double - 14 points, 16 assists, and 12 rebounds - while rookie Frank Jackson contributed 16 points on 53.8% shooting.
Unfortunately, all of this wasn't enough against the Blazers' balanced outing with six players in double figures led by their backcourt of Damian Lillard (7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and CJ McCollum (5 rebounds, 4 assists), who combined for 47.
Given the margin of victory, the biggest stat discrepancy between the two teams was their performance at the free-throw line. The Portland franchise made 81.3% of their 32 attempts while the Pelicans only made 48.0% of their 25 attempts.
With this win, the Blazers jump the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fourth seed in the Western Conference and are only 0.5 games behind the third-seeded Houston Rockets.