New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram had a career-best performance against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, but it wasn’t enough to stop the team’s losing ways.
Ingram recorded a career-high 40 points in the Pelicans’ 135-125 loss to the Nets last night. This performance came two days after Ingram left Saturday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder after playing just 13 minutes. He suffered a head injury on Saturday and returned on Monday to put together the best scoring display of his career.
The Pelicans did not get much contribution outside of Ingram, with Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday totaling 15 points each.
Brooklyn jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead and held off the Pelicans in the fourth quarter after New Orleans fought back to cut the deficit to just six points by the end of the third.
Nets point guard Kyrie Irving nearly matched Ingram’s production with 39 points of his own. Irving also had a game-high nine assists.
New Orleans got away from the ball movement they displayed earlier in the season. They only assisted on 18 of the team’s 48 field goals. Compare that to Brooklyn’s 32 assists on 49 made field goals.
The Pelicans are now 1-6 to start the year. After earning their first win of the season on Halloween night against the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans has now lost two games in a row.
They will return from their two-game road trip for a home game against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, followed by a Saturday road game against the Charlotte Hornets.