Poole’s Return Sparks Pelicans’ Historic Offensive Explosion Against Blazers 143-120

It had been nearly a month since the New Orleans Pelicans felt good about a basketball game. The locker room was quiet, the losses were piling up, and the frustration was mounting with every missed rotation and clanked rim. But on Thursday night, the fog lifted.

Welcoming Jordan Poole back into the fold after a nagging left quadriceps injury, the Pelicans didn’t just snap their seven-game losing skid; they obliterated it. New Orleans hung 143 points on the Portland Trail Blazers, cruising to a 143-120 victory that felt like an exhale for the entire franchise.

This wasn’t a team limping across the finish line. This was a statement game, marked by a franchise-record 86 points in the paint that left the Blazers’ interior defense looking like a turnstile.

Jordan Poole brings the swagger back

You can talk about schemes and rotations all day, but sometimes, you just need a guy who can get a bucket. Poole was that guy on Thursday. In his return to the floor, he poured in 22 points, instantly changing the geometry of the offense.

The Pelicans have looked stagnant during this recent drought, often passing up good shots for worse ones. Poole’s aggression was the antidote. He attacked the rim early, setting a tempo that his teammates were eager to match. His presence opened up the floor, allowing the rest of the roster to feast on the space he created.

It marked only the second win for head coach James Borrego, who took the reins after the mid-November shakeup that saw Willie Green depart. For Borrego, having his primary scorer back in the mix clearly made the whiteboard strategy translate to the hardwood.

Unlikely heroes fuel a record-breaking night

While Poole grabbed the headlines, the story of the game was the sheer depth of the Pelicans’ attack. This wasn’t a one-man show. Six players cracked the 15-point mark, and the bench unit played with a cohesive fire that has been missing for weeks.

Bryce McGowens was nothing short of unconscious from deep. He tied his career high with 23 points, but the stat that jumped off the box score was his efficiency from beyond the arc: a perfect 5-for-5. Every time Portland tried to make a run, McGowens seemed to be there to bury a momentum-killing three.

Then there were the rookies. In a season where bright spots have been hard to come by, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen offered a glimpse into the future. Fears dropped 19 points, playing with a poise beyond his years, while Queen added 17, doing the dirty work inside that contributed to that massive paint scoring number. When your rookies are combining for 36 points in a blowout win, it does wonders for the team’s morale.

Herb Jones loses his cool in a rare emotional outburst

Despite the lopsided score, the game wasn’t without its tension. The most shocking moment of the night came from perhaps the most unlikely source: Herb Jones.

Known for his stoic demeanor and defensive discipline, Jones found himself making an early exit. In the fifth season of his NBA career, Jones has built a reputation as a player who keeps his head down and grinds. But after a whistle went against him on a defensive possession, Jones snapped. He disputed the call with a ferocity that caught everyone off guard, resulting in two quick technical fouls and the first ejection of his career.

It was an out-of-character moment, but in a strangely, it might have been exactly what the Pelicans needed—a show of fire, a sign that they weren’t going to roll over, even with a comfortable lead.

Portland’s woes continue despite Sharpe’s effort

On the other side, the Trail Blazers are searching for answers of their own. Missing key bodies and rolling with only 10 available players, they simply ran out of gas. They’ve now dropped six of their last seven, a slide that mirrors the one New Orleans just escaped.

Shaedon Sharpe tried to keep things competitive with 21 points, and Sidy Cissoko added 20, but they had no answer for the Pelicans’ interior assault. When you give up nearly 90 points in the paint, it’s almost impossible to win in this league.

For New Orleans, this win doesn’t fix everything. They still have a hole to dig themselves out of in the standings. But for one night, the offense was humming, the ball was moving, and the losing streak was a thing of the past.