Pelicans (13-8), Raptors (11-10)
Two nights after a shorthanded New Orleans team earned a stinging victory over Oklahoma City, this time the Pelicans made sure there would be no endgame drama against Toronto. Playing without Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum for a second straight game Wednesday, New Orleans dominated, racking up 74 points in the first half and building a lead of more than 30 after intermission. Starting forwards Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy each contributed to one of the best nights of their respective NBA careers, combining to score 59 points.
Jonas Valanciunas drained a three-pointer near the top of the arc to put New Orleans ahead 94-63, still with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter. The long ball from the center forced a timeout for Toronto and drew another standing ovation from the Smoothie King Center crowd. To Toronto’s credit, the visitors fell to within 11 midway through the fourth quarter, but Williamson’s back-to-back scores snuffed out a push.
GAME PLAYER PELICANS
Williamson had a second consecutive all-around performance. Two nights after coming the closest in his NBA career to a triple-double, this time the forward had 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks. Meanwhile, Murphy went 6/12 from beyond the arc in a 26-point outing.
27: Halftime leader for New Orleans, tied for fourth in franchise history. The 74 points scored by the Pelicans were the seventh in a first half in team history.
14, 7, 9: Points, rebounds and assists from Dyson Daniels, respectively, a performance that may have gone a bit under the radar given the accumulation of other positives that took place for Nova Scotia. Orleans.
REVISIT FANDUEL GAME KEYS
YOUNG PELS UNIT
It’s hard to ask for much more than the club’s field of first- and second-year pros produced against Toronto.
MORE PRECISION ON THE ATTACK
The turnovers were still too high, but the ball movement was exquisite (19 assists in the first half).
What seemed like a tough game for the New Orleans greats was less so when Williamson came out sprinting through defenders and passing everyone for rebounds. Meanwhile, Valanciunas used his burly frame to almost string in a double-double at halftime (nine points, 10 rebounds in 15 minutes).
#WESTERNCONFERENCEWEDNESDAY
It’s a little early to start thinking about the playoffs, but that hasn’t stopped us from polling fans on their goal for the Pelicans in the 2022-23 regular season, particularly in terms of West seeding. . On Twitter, the vast majority of respondents (63%) chose “top four seeds” as what New Orleans’ goal should be; the team entered Wednesday’s lively evening around the league in third place. Finishing in the top six (thus avoiding the play-in tournament) was next at 24%. As @jmood88 described of his overall outlook, “If they’re healthy for a meaningful period of time, they should be in the top 4. If they continue to have these intermittent injuries, then in the top 6.”