The New Orleans Pelicans finally got their first win of the 2016-17 NBA regular season by dropping the Milwaukee Bucks, 112-106. The Pelicans are now 1-8 while the Bucks are now 4-4 for the season.
The Pelicans lost their first eight games of the season. They came close to winning several times but never managed to close out games well. But although they were losing games, they weren't getting blown out as well, even to title contenders like the San Antonio Spurts and the Golden State Warriors.
"It feels good, really," said Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry. "We've been close. I think we've played some good basketball, but always kind of came up a little short," he added.
Anthony Davis finished the game with 32 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. He has been the lone consistent player for the Pelicans throughout their losing streak. But despite the losses piling up, Davis kept doing what he does best and the team finally got their first win.
"If feels good but we still have a lot of work to do," said Davis. "It feels good to finally be on the other side but we need to keep pushing. We've been playing hard and tonight we finally got it," the player said.
"They deserve to win," said Gentry. "The way they worked and the way they kind of hung together and the way they just stayed and stuck it out and fought, they deserve this," the Pelicans coach added.
Gentry went for a different look for his starting lineup by inserting Dante Cunningham for Solomon Hill and Terrence Jones for Omer Asik. The move paid off for the Pelicans as Hill and Asik provided some quality minutes off the bench along with Buddy Hield.
Jabari Parker scored a season-high 33 points for the Bucks but it wasn't enough to give them the win. The loss to the Pelicans is the second time they have given a win to a winless team in the regular season. They gave up a win to the Dallas Mavericks who were 0-5 before facing the Bucks.
