The New Orleans Pelicans secured their first playoff win since 2011 as they stole home court advantage with a hard-fought win over the Portland Trail Blazers.They had to dig deep in the closing moments to claim a narrow 97-95 victory.As usual, they had superstar Anthony Davis to thank as he put on a monster display to enjoy his first playoff win.The All-Star's only previous appearance in the postseason was in 2015 when the Pelicans were swept by the Golden State Warriors in the first round.AD posted 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting, along with 14 rebounds and four blocks and was the best player on the floor.Despite the 25-year-old's dominance, the biggest play of the night was made by Jrue Holiday.Trailing by three points with just nine seconds to go, the Blazers produced a terrific inbound play underneath the Pelicans basket as Evan Turner found Pat Connaughton wide-open for a layup attempt.But as he went up, Holiday came out of nowhere to produce a sensational block that effectively sealed the win for New Orleans.

It was a terrific clutch play on the defensive end by the guard and head coach Alvin Gentry raved about Holiday's ability to contribute on both ends.

"It's funny because we always put a clip on [the video edit] that says 'game-winning plays' and today it actually was Jrue blocking [Connaughton's] shot in the Portland game," Gentry said, per ESPN's Kevin Pelton.

"Same guy, almost the exact same area and he came up with another block. I just think, like I've said, with Kawhi Leonard not dressed and playing, I don't know if there's a better two-way player in the game."

That was one of two rejections on the night by the 27-year-old, to go along with 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Overall it was a collective effort by the Pelicans as Rajon Rondo was in playoff form with six points, eight rebounds and 17 assists.

Nikola Mirotic continued from where he left off at the end of the regular season by adding 16 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and four blocks.

As a team, the Louisiana-based outfit also worked extremely hard to make life difficult for Portland's talented backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, holding them to a combined 13-of-41 from the field.

The two teams will reconvene for game two at the Moda Center on Tuesday but the Pelicans should now be considered the favourites in this series after claiming home court.

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