There is plenty to not like about the way this New Orleans Pelicans’ season is going.

But then along comes a game like Friday’s comeback victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves and you see why you continue to hold on.

The Pelicans climbing out of an 18-point hole in the third quarter to beat Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves on the road was one of the top three victories of the season.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. There are only 14 wins to choose from.

Well, put this latest win on the top shelf right alongside December’s home win over the Houston Rockets (the Pels rallied from down 25) and last month’s road win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. 

Those three are the only Pels’ wins over teams seeded eighth or higher in the conference standings. These type of games, unfortunately, have been outliers.

But the win over the Timberwolves said plenty about that sword that Pelicans interim coach James Borrego often talks about. The Pelicans haven’t quite dropped it, although there have been plenty of reasons to do so this season.

With no draft picks, this team has no reason to try to lose. And being 11 games out of just making the play-in tournament, they have no reason to try to win, either.

But credit to Borrego for getting his team to keep fighting. Eleven of the Pelican’s last 16 games have been clutch games, meaning the score was within five points in the last five minutes.

“You can get lost and discouraged when you’re losing these tough games,” Borrego said. “That’s human nature. The beauty in this team is that even within a game, we rise up. There is resiliency in us.”

That was the case Friday at the Target Center in Minnesota. The Pelicans trailed 77-59 early in the third quarter but got stellar offensive efforts from Saddiq Bey (30 points), Zion Williamson (29) and Trey Murphy (26). Bey also had nine rebounds and five assists. His stellar play has made the Jordan Poole-CJ McCollum trade seem a tad better.

Murphy made six 3-pointers, giving him 18 3-pointers over the last two games. Williamson shot 11 of 13 from the floor.

Even more impressive is that Williamson has played in 28 consecutive games, a sign of progress for a guy whose career has been plagued by injuries.

Rookie Derik Queen made all four of his 3-point attempts and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Bryce McGowens and Yves Missi provided quality minutes off of the bench as the Pels wrapped up their four-game road trip with a win.

It was the only win of a rough swing that came in the midst of the trade deadline. The trip also included a game that was rescheduled to 2 p.m. Monday instead of 6 p.m. because of inclement weather in Charlotte.

The Pels showed both how good they can be and how bad they can be. The trip started with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, which was expected considering the Pels played at home the night before. But then came the loss to the Hornets when the Pelicans scored just 31 points in the second half. They followed that up two nights later with an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, who were playing without both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. A day later, the Pelicans traded guarded Jose Alvarado.

“Trade deadline weeks are tough on everybody, much less the road trip,” Borrego said. “Then you add the Jose piece to all that. But I think the group in general has stayed focused on the task at hand, which is to improve and get better every day. Stay focused and locked in on what we control, our process, our development as a team as individuals.”

The Pelicans hope to carry over the momentum from Friday into the last two games before the All-Star break. They host the Sacramento Kings on Monday and the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

“We’re making strides,” Borrego said. “It’s all between the ears, though. It’s that confidence and that belief of how do we get better versus pointing the finger. This is not going to be a group that points the finger and blames. That’s what some people outside our world want to do. That’s now what we are about. We are going to stay connected, stay together and talk through it and move forward. That’s what we’ve done on this road trip.”

Now if they could just find a way to do it consistently.