Pelicans Demolish Trail Blazers To Extend Winning Streak
Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans are on a mission. Their latest victim was the Portland Trail Blazers who the Pelicans defeated 124-90 on Monday night.
The victory extends the Pels winning streak to five games and puts them in a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves for seventh place in the Western Conference standings. The Pelicans have beaten the Trail Blazers in six of the last seven matchups.
Mar 27, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers small forward Cam Reddish (5) shoots under pressure from New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17, left) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans dismantled the Blazers quickly as they jumped out to a 34-14 lead after the first quarter. Portland played without four of their five starters due to injury, and the Pelicans quickly took advantage. Ingram scored 13 points in the first quarter as New Orleans never trailed after Portland took a 2-0 lead to start the game.
Portland went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter to cut the Pelicans' lead down to 13, but New Orleans quickly pushed the lead back to 23. Ingram single-handedly outscored the Blazers starters 18-14 in the first half. The 35 points were the lowest output the Pelicans held an opponent to all season in the first half.
By the third quarter, the lead ballooned to 35 points, and the Pelicans were looking to get out of the arena healthy. Ingram finished with a game-high 29 points, but there were contributions all the way around. The 55 points the Pelicans gave up after three quarters was the lowest output they held an opponent to since 2015.
Jonas Valanciunas had a season-high 21 rebounds and scored 10 points. Herb Jones had another phenomenal defensive performance holding Portland's Shaedon Sharpe to 12 points after Sharpe had scored 20+ points in three straight games. CJ McCollum dished 8 of the Pelicans 31 assists on the evening.
The Pels dominated on the boards 53-29 and in the paint 62-54. Every Pelicans player who entered the game scored at least 2 points. New Orleans finished the game shooting 57% from the field while holding Portland to 38% shooting.
The victory sets up a massive game Tuesday night when New Orleans travels to take on the defending champ Golden State Warriors. Both teams have 37 losses and are two games in the loss column from the fourth seed. The Pelicans have a 2-1 season lead on the Warriors, so a victory over Golden State on Tuesday would give them the season series and any tiebreakers should both teams finish with the same record.
