Holiday, Pelicans have Portland on the brink

NEW ORLEANS — Jrue Holiday's postseason production is providing Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis with a more comfortable margin for error — and has left Portland with precious little.

Holiday's 54 points, 16 assists and slew of defensive successes in the first two games are big reasons why the sixth-seeded Pelicans hold a surprising 2-0 series lead over the third-seeded Trail Blazers as they prepare for Game 3 Thursday night in New Orleans.

"Playoff Jrue, I guess," Davis quipped after Holiday scored 33 — including a late, deep 3-pointer — in the Pelicans' Game 2 triumph in Portland on Tuesday night. "He's in a different mode."

Philadelphia visits Miami in one of two other Game 3s on Thursday night, while the Spurs' return to San Antonio after a pair of double-digit losses at defending champion Golden State.

Pelicans general manager Dell Demps bet big on Holiday on the first day of free agency last summer, giving the 27-year-old guard a five-year contract worth about $126 million. But if the postseason is where players really earn their money, then the Pelicans' Holiday spending could very well be worth it.

Holiday helped preserve New Orleans' Game 1 victory with a leaping steal in transition during the final minutes, followed by a block in the final seconds. Those plays were prime examples of why Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry has asserted Holiday is one of the best two-way players in the NBA.