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The New Orleans Pelicans made it to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 by beating the LA Clippers at the play-in tournament and CJ McCollum waxed lyrical on Larry Nance Jr.
The play-in game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers saw the No.8 seed and No.9 seed team face off against each other. Although It was a dramatic Friday night for the Pelicans they managed to get a 105-101 win over the LA Clippers to book their spot into the NBA 2022 playoffs.
Pelicans star man CJ McCollum added 19 points while Brandon Ingram scored 30 points. But it was Larry Nance Jr. whose work went under the radar. The 29-year-old Nance grabbed 14 points, four assists and 16 rebounds to help his team clinch a playoff berth. It was his best game as a Pelican.
Nance was instrumental in the transition for the Pelicans and McCollum heaped praise on the power forward after the game. McCollum, who was traded to the Pelicans from Portland along with Nance earlier this season, claimed that his team would not have beaten the Clippers on the night if it wasn’t for Nance.
While speaking to reporters, McCollum said, “I think he (Nance) was great. He did a superb job. He was aggressive, getting more comfortable with his surroundings. What was even more impressive is that he came back from injury and to perform like that was really amazing. Without his presence and numbers we wouldn’t have won this game.”
The Pelicans will now have a massive challenge ahead of them as they face Monty Williams’ Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA 2022 Playoffs.
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