Pelicans' Jordan Poole: Dishes six dimes in start

Poole closed with 16 points (5-16 FG, 4-11 3Pt, 2-3 FT), one rebound and six assists over 30 minutes during Friday's 122-109 loss to Portland.

Poole made his fifth start of the regular season Friday and first since Nov. 4 due to the absences of several key starters, including Trey Murphy (back) and Saddiq Bey (hip). Poole wasn't the most efficient from the field, but he led the Pelicans with six assists and finished tied with Karlo Matkovic as the team's third-leading scorer behind Zion Williamson (35 points) and Jeremiah Fears (18 points). Across the 10 games since returning from an 18-game absence due to a left quadriceps strain, Poole has averaged 17.1 points, 3.4 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 threes and 1.0 steals over 36.4 minutes per game, though he's connected on just 27.6 percent of his three-point attempts over that span.