Busy Holiday for Pelicans in Portland

Removed from the turbulence that marked his previous seasons in New Orleans, Jrue Holiday is in a good place — and it shows.

Holiday had a career playoff high 33 points as the Pelicans took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 111-102 victory on Tuesday night.

The series shifts to New Orleans on Thursday.

Holiday struggled at times with injuries after coming to the Pelicans in 2013. Then in early 2016 he took a leave of absence when doctors discovered that his wife, former US national soccer team player Lauren Holiday, had a brain tumor while she was pregnant with the couple’s first child.

“He’s been through some tough times, the first year he’s injured, he’s on minute restrictions through the greater part of the season, and then everybody’s familiar with the situation with his wife and what they had to go through,” coach Alvin Gentry said.

“Everybody’s healthy and in a good place now, so I think mentally he’s in a good place.”

On Tuesday, Holiday played with emotion he didn’t often show earlier in his career. He agreed that it felt a weight has been lifted.

“My family’s the most important thing to me, and with them being OK I can come back to the team freely and be able to help them out now,” he said.

“It’s been fun. I feel like my teammates and the organization definitely helped me out coming back from things with my family, and even the injuries, with being able to play and to perform at the peak I’m performing.”

Holiday also had nine assists for the Pelicans, while Rajon Rondo came close to his 11th postseason triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Anthony Davis added 22 points and 13 rebounds.

The third-seeded Blazers, in the playoffs for the fifth straight year, dropped the first game against the Pelicans 97-95, becoming the highest seed to lose at the start of the opening round.

Davis had 35 points and Rondo had 17 assists to tie the franchise record. Lillard and McCollum combined to shoot just 13 for 41 in the opener.