A broken toe held Ryan Anderson out of New Orleans' first nine games, but the 6'10, 240 pound forward shot the lights out in his return Saturday night against Philadelphia. He scored 26 points in 26 minutes in the Pelicans' 136-98 victory over the struggling Sixers.
Ryan Anderson has a huge season debut in Pelicans win
The 6’10 stretch four scored 26 points in 26 minutes in his first game back from a toe injury.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sport
He was sinking three-pointers with ease, finding space to let jumpers fly off the dribble and he even scored a bucket from the post off of a fadeaway over his right shoulder. He finished the game 10-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-10 from behind the arc.
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Anderson, 25, registered a staggering offensive rating of 146 and, according to Basketball-Reference finished the night with an 81.3 percent True Shooting percentage.
The Pelicans had lost three straight games, but Anderson’s return opened up the floor as the team scored a season high 136 points.
Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans benefited the most in Anderson's return. Prior to having the stretch four on the floor, Evans was averaging a career low nine points per game on a career worst 38.5 percent shooting.
But Anderson’s presence opened the floor for Evans off the bench and the 6’6 guard scored 15 points on 10 shots.
Saturday’s 136 point outing might be a sign of things to come for a healthy Pelicans squad.
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