Pelicans Overwhelm Spurs In Blowout Win 110-146 victory
The New Orleans Pelicans blew out the San Antonio Spurs 146-110 on Sunday to end their road trip with a perfect 3-0 record. The victory moves the Pelicans to 16-11 on the year before they head home to play six of the next seven games. Many fans were anticipating the matchup between Zion Williamson and Victor Wembanyama, but offensively, the Pelicans were the star of the show.
San Antonio opened the ballgame as the more energetic team and grabbed a quick 6-0 lead. CJ McCollum converted a four-point play for the Pelicans first points of the game. That play seemed to energize New Orleans’ offense, especially Brandon Ingram. After a horrible performance on Friday night when B.I. scored just eight points and committed nine turnovers, Ingram started Sunday’s game 3/3 from beyond the arc for a game-high 11 first-quarter points.
As a team, the Pelicans shot 6/10 from three-point range, while holding the Spurs to 1/10 shooting from deep. Trey Murphy III came off the Pels bench to score seven points, and the Pelicans led by 17 points at one point. After trailing 6-0, the Pelicans outscored the Spurs 33-14 the remainder of the quarter.
Much like Friday’s game versus Charlotte, the Pelicans turnovers allowed the Spurs to remain in the game. New Orleans committed five turnovers in the quarter, and the Spurs capitalized with nine points on those mistakes. Cedi Osman came off the Spurs bench to score 12 points in the half. San Antonio used a 13-3 run to end the half and pull within ten points at halftime. New Orleans missed five free throws in the half.
New Orleans dominated the third quarter to pull away from the Spurs. The Pelicans scored 44 points in the frame, including six points in the last five seconds to end the quarter. Those two three-point shots to end the third gave the Pels five in the quarter as they shot lights out in the game. New Orleans led 105-78, led by Brandon Ingram’s 26 points and four assists.
The Pelicans surpassed their previous season-high of three-point shots after making their 19th with over eight minutes left in the game. The starters rested most of the quarter, allowing the bench to play out the remainder of the game. Every Pelicans player who played scored in the game, with CJ McCollum leading all scorers with 29 points.
Zion Williamson finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points, while grabbing 13 rebounds. New Orleans made a season-high 22 three-point shots, en route to a season-high 146 points on the night. It was the second time on the road trip the Pelicans scored at least 140 points. New Orleans heads home to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday evening.