Jamahl Mosley blames ‘self-inflicted wounds’ as the Pelicans waste a 19-point fourth-quarter lead and fall to 0-3

Jamahl Mosley is still waiting on his first win as coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, and after Saturday’s 141-135 overtime loss in Denver he put most of the blame on his own team’s ball security. New Orleans led by 19 going into the fourth quarter on October 24, was outscored 37-18 in the period and fell to 0-3, one night after a 120-119 loss to the Utah Jazz.

Mosley pointed to the same handful of habits that have followed the team through all three defeats: protecting the ball, defending without fouling and ending possessions with a rebound. He called a lot of what went wrong in Denver “self-inflicted wounds,” and said the details the Pelicans can control matter more than anything the opponent does.

How a 19-point lead got away

For three quarters the Pelicans played the way Mosley wants. They scored 38, 35 and 35 points, and he noted the team had 22 assists on its 29 first-half baskets. New Orleans was still up 118-102 midway through the fourth, and Saddiq Bey’s free throws restored a 124-116 lead with 1:37 to go.

Then the offense went quiet. The Pelicans made only five field goals across the fourth quarter and overtime, hit just one three after halftime, and gave the ball away on a run of possessions in the last minute of regulation, which let the Denver Nuggets tie it without needing a stop at the other end. New Orleans finished with 18 turnovers to Denver’s 11. Jamal Murray scored 42 and Nikola Jokić had 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists; Mosley tipped his cap to both, but said Denver simply turned up its pressure while his team let it.

The rotation Mosley used

With Yves Missi out because of a bone bruise in his left knee, Mosley started DeAndre Jordan at center against his former team. The 38-year-old made all three of his shots for nine points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes, and Mosley praised the example he sets in the locker room. Second-year big Derik Queen gave the Pelicans 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench without a turnover, and six players scored in double figures, led by Trey Murphy III with 26 and Dejounte Murray with 22. Zion Williamson scored 17 on 7-of-11 shooting.

Asked how a winless team resets after a loss like this, Mosley kept it simple. Every team wins and loses games, he said, and the job is to tighten the late-game details because “there’s a common theme in these moments.”

What comes next

The Pelicans fly home, take Sunday off and open a three-game homestand against the same Nuggets on Wednesday, October 28, at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Sacramento and Atlanta within four nights.

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