The New Orleans Pelicans’ film session Wednesday morning was the 19th one this season that came after a loss.
This one was perhaps the toughest one to watch.
Many of the other 18 losses were blowouts or games that were decided by the time the end of the fourth quarter came around.
Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was not only a game the Pelicans could have won, but it was one they should have won.
The Pels led 129-125 when Jose Alvarado rebounded a missed shot by Minnesota’s Donte DiVinceno with just 46.4 seconds remaining. But Alvarado turned the ball over, leading to a Timberwolves’ basket to make it a 2-point game. Jeremiah Fears missed a contested layup with 13.6 seconds left. Minnesota, trailing 129-127, called a timeout with 7 seconds left. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards drove to the basket for a lay-up to send the game to overtime and Minnesota pulled away. The Pelicans had a foul to give on the Edwards drive, but didn’t use it.
New Orleans Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego talks with the team during a play review during the first half of the basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
So its easy to understand why Pelicans’ interim head coach James Borrego used Wednesday’s practice to focus solely on end of game situations.
“(It’s an) area of  growth,” Borrego said. “You put yourself in those positions and now you’ve got to close. We are at the goal line and we’ve got to figure out how to close. It’s maturity. It’s execution. It’s poise. It’s confidence.”
The Pelicans (3-19) don’t have to wait long to see if the practice helped. They get another shot at the Timberwolves (13-8) Thursday at Smoothie King Center.
Losses in the clutch serve as teachable moments for a young team, particularly rookies like Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears.
“Just be more disciplined,” Queen said. “Close out the game better. No turnovers. No second chances for them. And just execute.”
Borrego’s Wednesday practice consisted of the team going through various end of game scenarios. It ranged from being up by two with 30 seconds left to being down by 2 with 30 seconds left and everything in between.
“Do it until you like what you see,” Borrego said. “Make sure we are all talking about it what we are looking for and try to replicate it as much as possible. You can’t get the pressure level or stress level that you’ll get tomorrow night or in a game, but you can certainly simulate it as much as you can.”
Borrego focuses on the details and is all about repetition until the team gets it right. Because of the way the schedule has played out, this was just his fourth actual practice with the team since taking over for Willie Green. A lot of the practice time has focused on what Borrego calls “more foundational stuff.”
“This team has to dominate the margins,” Borrego said. “That’s the goal right now.”
The margins are how the team does after a timeout. And at the end of quarters and end of games.
“Those situations we want to dominate,” Borrego said. “It’s very doable. It’s not rocket science. (It takes) some focus. You’ve got to give it attention. You’ve got to deal with it. Making sure guys know where they need to be. It all comes down to the details there. (Wednesday) was probably the most detailed, end of the game practice I’ve had in a while. It’s been a minute. It felt good. We felt the pain of last night. We owned it. That’s the beauty of this team. Nobody’s hanging their heads.”