On Friday night, the New Orleans Pelicans picked up a 123-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The few hours prior to tipoff added adversity onto the Pelicans’ already challenging season as Zion Williamson was issued a one-game suspension by the organization for showing up late for their team flight to Philadelphia, and Herb Jones was ruled out of action indefinitely due to a right shoulder injury.
CJ McCollum stepped up as New Orleans’ leader, scoring a game-high 38 points on 54.2-percent shooting. The 33-year-old guard scored 17 points during the first quarter, setting a strong tone for his offense. Starters Jordan Hawkins and Dejounte Murray combined for another 38 points, while bench players Jose Alvarado, Daniel Theis, and Brandon Boston scored in double digits too.
Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey registered 30 points and 12 assists, and Paul George totaled 25 points and 11 rebounds. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid, who has now missed three consecutive games due to a strained left foot.
New Orleans led for the majority of the contest, though the 76ers battled to a 63-63 tie with less than eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Pelicans soon reaffirmed control, as Philadelphia trailed by at least six points throughout the final frame. Key factors included 14 fourth-quarter points from the bench and accurate three-point shooting from McCollum and Hawkins.
At a postgame press conference, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse gave his thoughts on McCollum’s scoring barrage.
“Of his first 23,15 of them were in transition, right? We did know that that’s what he’s trying to do. Get out early and try to score early in the sets. We just didn’t do a good enough job of either, matching up usually was okay, but our secondary defenders weren’t quite in the gaps and things like that providing the help. The game was moving pretty fast for us as well.”
76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. had high praise for McCollum.
“He was just cooking, man. He was popping. His footwork was very phenomenal tonight. We know that he’s very capable and his role has changed with this team. Tonight, they needed him to do what he did and he did exactly what they asked him to do so honestly, man, just being more prepared.”
The Pelicans now hold an 8-31 season record. Their next game is scheduled for Sunday against the Boston Celtics.