Anthony Davis brings his suit game again for Game 3 vs. Blazers

E’Twaun Moore had a quiet scoring game, but his perimeter defense was as stout as it has been all series.

Portland got a boost in Game 2 with the return of Harkless for first time since he had a minor procedure on his left knee in late March. When Rondo is locked in during the postseason, the 6-foot-1 guard who won an National Basketball Association title with the Boston Celtics has shown he can be a tough out. “The Brow” carried over his MVP-caliber season play into Game 1, scoring 35 points with an efficient 54 percent on field goals.

“I don’t know where that Playoff Rondo name came from”, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.

“There’s a lot of factors into that”.

“I think once I surpassed everything with my family and made sure they were OK, things were definitely put into perspective”, Holiday said. “Really excited about what the team has accomplished together through the season.Just to be here, I think, as a team, we appreciate that”. “I get better as a player offensively when he checks me in practice”. Game 2’s 111-102 victory saw him flirt with a triple-double as he contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Lillard said he expected more out of himself.

“We want to come in and be greedy”, said Anthony Davis. Rondo played a major role in both of those playoff runs, while leading Boston in minutes per game. That would align with the regular-season data, which plainly states that New Orleans performed better with him on the bench.

And he thrives under the playoff lights.

Capitalising on turnovers – Both teams turned it over roughly the same amount of times on Sunday, the Blazers giving it up 12 times and the Pelicans 14.

The Trail Blazers rank third in rebounds per game (45.5) while the Pelicans rank 24th in rebounds allowed per game (45.6). Consider, for instance, that he finished the season tied for fifth in the NBA in * a href=”http://stats.nba.com/players/hustle/?sort=LOOSE_BALLS_RECOVERED&dir=1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&CF=G*GE*60″ *loose balls recovered per game, with 1.6.

Four players are averaging in double figures for the Pelicans in the postseason, they are Anthony Davis (28.5), Jrue Holiday (27.0), Nikola Mirotic (16.5) and Rajon Rondo (11.0).

“The season for me is split up into five different gears”, Rondo told Fox Sports New Orleans’ game broadcast.

The Trail Blazers, however, are proving to be the flawless matchup for Rondo’s unique skill set.

The Pelicans signed Rondo as a free agent last July. The Blazers, who had a tremendous season (especially down the stretch), will have to claw out of a hole. Chicago went on to drop the series to the Celtics.

The combination of Davis inside and Jrue Holiday on the perimeter has proven hard for the Blazers to solve. The Pelicans made it clear they weren’t going down easy, trading buckets even as Harkless and Aminu heated up. The Trail Blazers held a 64-58 lead one minute into the second half before getting outscored 21-4 over the ensuing seven minutes.