Pelicans not gaining momentum after remarkable comeback

CJ McCollum (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

For some teams in the National Basketball Association, a comeback can be extremely significant and change a team’s entire season around. Or it can be like the New Orleans Pelicans over the last week, and not change a team’s season at all.

The Pelicans were down 46-21 to the Utah Jazz, two minutes and 18 seconds into the second quarter on Martin Luther King Day last week before outscoring the Jazz 102-73 en route to a 123-119 overtime win. The 25 point comeback was the second biggest comeback of the 2024-25 NBA season, and the biggest comeback in the Pelicans franchise.

However, the comeback has not been all that beneficial for the Pelicans, as they have since lost four straight games to the Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks. New Orleans is the second worst team in the Western Conference at 12 wins and 36 losses. Ironically, only the Jazz are worse at 10 wins and 35 losses.

The comeback is worth revisiting. It was a sensational game for guard CJ McCollum of Canton, Ohio, who had 45 points. Guard Dejounte Murray of Seattle, Washington had 26 points and 11 assists for the double double, small forward Trey Murphy III of Durham, North Carolina had 24 points, and shooting guard Jordan Hawkins of Gaithersburg, Maryland had 18 points off the bench.

The biggest comeback this season was 26 points on November 4. The Los Angeles Clippers came back from a 40-14 deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-104. The previous biggest comeback in Pelicans history was 24 points. New Orleans was down 79-55 to the Boston Celtics before winning 120-115 on February 21, 2021.