Jordan Poole was one of the catalysts behind the New Orleans Pelicans’ 143-120 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, which snapped their seven-game losing streak.
In his first game back since November 5, Poole contributed 22 points and three assists on 8-for-19 shooting from the field in 26 minutes off the bench. During the postgame presser, the one-time NBA champion said he was happy to be back on the court after missing 16 consecutive games due to a strained quad.
“I hated it. I didn’t like it at all, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I was playing injured in the first seven games also. It was good to be back out there. You can’t do anything about an injury, but you can do whatever you can to try to get back, and that’s what I’ve done,” Poole said.
“We have such an active crowd, whether it’s full or it’s not full… They want to cheer. They want to be loud. We have fans that love to watch hoop. Obviously, we have to give them something to cheer for. We gave them something tonight,” he continued.
New Orleans Pelicans News: Jordan Poole sees a bright future in Derik Queen
Before returning last night, Jordan Poole got to see the rapid development of Derik Queen, and he made sure to give his rookie teammate some props.
“Really talented special player… Loon and DeAndre do a really good job at staying in his ear about the small things it takes to be a good player. Just want to keep allowing them to be successful and pushing our team in the right direction,” Poole raved about Queen.
Against the Portland Trail Blazers yesterday, Queen dropped 17 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals on 8-for-12 shooting from the field in 35 minutes of action.
