NEW ORLEANS — The Portland Trail Blazers have shown they can beat any team in the NBA.
They’ve also shown they can lose to any team.
And for the better part of three quarters Wednesday, it looked like they were poised to fall to one of the worst teams in the league.
But with another inspiring performance from Shaedon Sharpe, another dominant outing from Deni Avdija and a clutch third-quarter flurry from Jrue Holiday, the Blazers avoided a French Quarter face plant.
The Blazers pulled away from the New Orleans Pelicans after a sluggish first half at Smoothie King Center, defeating the worst team in the Western Conference 125-117 in a game that featured a minor fracas in New Orleans.
A grimy, back-and-forth slugfest finally started to twist the Blazers’ way in the third quarter, when their defense flexed a little muscle and Holiday put on a one-man show.
After allowing nine three-pointers and a backbreaking 16 second-chance points in the first half, the Blazers (6-5) neutralized both in the game-changing third. And when Holiday erupted for seven consecutive points late in the period — capping the breathtaking run with by converting a Toumani Camara steal with a wide open three — the Blazers led 92-78 and were cruising.
The Pelicans (2-9) called a timeout with 2:33 left to regroup.
But they never did.
The Blazers pushed their lead to 15 points in the fourth quarter, then held off a late Pelicans rally to earn their first win on a five-game trip.
Top performers
After torching the Orlando Magic for a season-high 31 points on Monday, Sharpe had another impressive outing against New Orleans. The starting shooting guard finished with 35 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals , flashing a mix of hot shooting and fast-break dunking to electrify a sparce and lethargic crowd at Smoothie King Center.
Sharpe made nine of his first 12 shots and was solid most of the game, finishing 13 of 18 from the field. Late in the fourth, when the pesky Pelicans refused to roll over, Sharpe converted a driving layup, swished a 13-foot jumper and recorded a key steal and fast-break dunk to push the Blazers’ lead to 120-112.
Avdija added 32 points and Holiday finished with 17 points and 12 assists, thanks to a dominant third quarter, during which he produced 13 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Derik Queen scored a career-high 26 points to go with severn rebounds and four assists, and Saddiq Bey added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Pelicans.
Mimi mele, ejections
The game featured a brief altercation and pair of ejections after a seemingly innocuous play snowballed into a heated exchange with 6:39 left in the second quarter.
It started when Blazers win Jerami Grant and Hornets center Yves Missi were fighting for rebounding position under the hoop after Trey Murphy III bricked a three-point attempt from the corner.
Grant and Missi became tangled under the hoop, with Grant tugging at Missi’s arms and Missi shoving Grant to the baseline. The players grabbed and jostled near the basketball stanchion and it appeared that Missi briefly cupped his hands around Grant’s neck. Amid the fracas, players from both teams sprinted toward their teammates and New Orleans coaches beelined from their nearby bench to break up the melee, creating a mass of bodies.
The players were separated before either threw a punch, but after officials reviewed the incident, Grant and Missi were ejected. Also, Sharpe and Herbert Jones, who were involved in the aftermath, were whistled for technical fouls.
Next up
The Blazers continue their five-game trip Friday night, when they visit the Houston Rockets at 5 p.m. at the Toyota Center. It’s their second game in the NBA Cup.
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