Well, at least the effort was better.

Just 24 hours earlier, the New Orleans Pelicans had a lackluster performance that head coach Willie Green described as “soft.”

Things didn’t look quite as bleak on Friday, but it still wasn’t enough as the Pelicans fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 132-124 at the Smoothie King Center.

“There are no moral victories in the NBA,” Green said. “Tonight I felt the competitive pressure. We set out with the right intentions. We gave everything we had. We just came up a little short.”

The Pelicans (5-27) are now in the midst of their second nine-game losing streak of the season. They have lost 18 of their last 19 games. The only win during that span was a 126-124 victory over the Phoenix Suns on December 5, sandwiched between the two nine-game losing streaks.

The Grizzlies (22-10) arrived at the Smoothie King Center one evening after scoring an NBA season-high 155 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors. The Pelicans, meanwhile, entered the game with the worst record in the NBA.

The Pelicans trailed by as many as 16 minutes in the first half before cutting it to 59-56 with 2:52 remaining. The Grizzlies, led by Jaren Jackson with 33 points and Ja Morant with 25 points, ended the half on a 15-5 run.

Morant left the game with 4:13 left in the third period with a shoulder injury after being examined by Daniel Theis. The Pelicans took advantage of Morant’s absence and cut the deficit to 112-102 with 6:05 left.

Not even a season-high 35 points from Trey Murphy, including 22 points in the first half, was enough to help the Pelican flip Thursday’s script in a 128-111 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Ahead of Friday’s game, Green spoke briefly with his team about what happened the night before. His message was simple.

“This group can be better,” Green said. “We are inconsistent. Now it’s time to turn the page. The nice thing about the NBA is that you get another chance pretty quickly.”

The Pelicans lost to the Grizzlies for the second time this season after losing 120-109 in Memphis in late November.

Pelicans rookie Yves Missi suffered a bad fall with 8:03 left in the second quarter and went to the locker room, but returned in the second half.

CJ McCollum scored 32 points, including 16 in the fourth. Theis finished with his first double-double as a Pelican with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He also had 6 assists.

“(Theis) had a great game, just being active,” Green said. “We needed his presence, especially after Yves was ruled out early with a back injury. He fought.”

The Pelicans are 0-4 after five home games, ending Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers.