NEW ORLEANS (AP) – CJ McCollum scored 30 points, Zion Williamson had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 126-107 yesterday for their sixth victory in seven games.
Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and blocked four shots, and Trey Murphy III added 20 points for the Pelicans, who shot 53.6 per cent (52 of 97) and broke open a competitive game in the fourth quarter.
McCollum made six of the Pelicans’ 13 three-pointers to reach 30 points for the fourth time this season. His production marked a sharp uptick from his six previous games, when he scored 14 or fewer points five times and did not score more than 20.
Williamson continued to produce in meaningful games, with his double-double coming after two straight 30-plus-point performances.
The victory pulled the Pelicans (41-26) within one-and-a-half games of the idle Los Angeles Clippers (42-24) for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Portland guard Dalano Banton scored 28 points, his third time scoring 25 or more points in his last six games, including a career-high 30 points on March 8 against Houston.
Anfernee Simmons scored 25 and Deandre Ayton had 20 points for the Blazers, who shot 50 per cent (42 of 84).
But Portland committed 20 turnovers, which led to 31 Pelicans points.
New Orleans was without defensive leader Herb Jones, who had bruised his elbow and hip on a hard fall during Friday night’s victory over the Clippers. The Pelicans also were without reserve forward Larry Nance Jr, who had a non-COVID illness.
Jones’ absence appeared to affect the tenor of the game.
Both teams shot better than 63 per cent in what had the look of a defence-optional first half, during which Williamson and Banton each scored 20 points.
Williamson was nine-of-11 shooting in the half, scoring mostly on explosive drives. He also converted a couple of alley-oop lobs.
In the final seconds of the half, Williamson rose to grab a contested lob from Ingram on the left side of the hoop and executed an off-balance layup before crashing to the court. That gave New Orleans a 73-68 lead at the break.
Green said his halftime message was: “The first team that decides to play some defence will have an opportunity to win this game.”
New Orleans outscored Portland 42-24 during the final 19 minutes.
