CJ McCollum scored 30 points, Zion Williamson had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Portland Trail Blazers 126-107 on Saturday night for their sixth win in seven games.
“It was great to see CJ being aggressive, making some shots,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “That was definitely the difference in the game.”
Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and blocked four shots, and Trey Murphy III added 20 points for the Pelicans, who shot 53.6 percent (52 of 97) and opened a competitive game in the fourth quarter.
McCollum made six of the Pelicans’ 13 3-pointers to reach 30 points for the fourth time this season. His production marked a big increase from his previous six games, where he scored 14 points or fewer five times and didn’t score more than 20.
“I’ve had a few dull weeks,” McCollum conceded. “Tonight, I got back to basics.”
Williamson continued to produce in meaningful games, with his double-double following two straight 30+ point performances.
“Whatever he decides to do on the court, when he’s right, he can do it — and rebounding is another piece of that,” Green said. “He’s playing great basketball right now.”
The victory brought the Pelicans (41-26) to within 1 1/2 games of the 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.
“I just try to imagine (the ball) going in and be confident,” Banton said. “The trust of your teammates is very important. If they tell me to shoot, they want me to do it. So once you have that, you need to put it together and do it.
Anfernee Simmons scored 25 points and Deandre Ayton 20 points for the Blazers, who shot 50 percent (42 of 84).
But Portland committed 20 turnovers, which led to 31 points for the Pelicans.
“You can’t afford that against a really good team,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “It’s hard to absorb that. But I think we did a pretty good job other than that.
New Orleans was without defensive leader Herb Jones, who injured his elbow and hip in a hard fall during Friday night’s victory against the Clippers. The Pelicans were also without reserve forward Larry Nance Jr., who was dealing with a non-COVID-related illness.
Jones’ absence seemed to affect the tenor of the match.
“He covers up a lot of our mistakes with his presence and his ability to cover space, his closing and his communication,” McCollum said of Jones. “We took it back in the second half. We communicated much better.
Both teams shot over 63 percent in what looked like a defense-optional first half, in which Williamson and Banton each scored 20 points.
Williamson shot 9 of 11 at halftime, scoring mostly on explosive drives. He also converted a few alley-oop lobs.
In the final seconds of the half, Williamson rose to his feet to grab a contested lob from Ingram on the left side of the hoop and executed an off-balance layup before crashing down the court. That gave New Orleans a 73-68 lead at the break.
Green said his message at halftime was: “The first team that decides to play a little defense is going to have the opportunity to win this game.”
New Orleans outscored Portland 42-24 over the final 19 minutes.
FOLLOWING
Trail Blazers: Visit Chicago Monday night.
Pelicans: Visit Brooklyn Tuesday night.
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