The New Orleans Pelicans (11-32) rode a first-quarter barrage to victory over the Utah Jazz (10-30) in New Orleans on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center, beating the visitors 136-123.
Zion Williamson recorded a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Pels picked up their third-straight win of the season, subsequently catapulting their lowly counterparts for second-to-last place in the Western Conference standings.
Veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum paced the Pelicans with 26 points joining Williamson along with four others scoring in double figures, including Trey Murphy III (19), Jose Alvarado (19), Daniel Theis (18) and Jordan Hawkins (11).
Alvarado came off the bench to drill six three-pointers while McCollum also converted the same number from beyond the arc.
After McCollum opened the scoring for New Orleans with a pair of early threes, two Theis free throws put the Pelicans up for good, 8-6 with 9:16 to play in the opening period.
The Pels led wire-to-wire afterwards, jumping out to a sizable 42-22 advantage following the first quarter of action and never looked back.
-Since Zion’s recent return to the lineup from injury, New Orleans has looked much better as an outfit backed by their star man, despite him continuing to miss nearly every other game.
While the Zion conundrum remains a long-term issue for the Pelicans, they’ll hope to continue riding their current hot streak on the court when they take on the Jazz yet again in NOLA.
The two Western Conference bottom-dwellers squared off once more last night at “The Blender.”
Before the contest, New Orleans was 11 games out of the postseason picture at this current juncture and will need to continue winning ways if it wishes to make the end of season Play-In Tournament as a 7-10 seed for a chance at competing in the playoffs.
