Ingram Paces Pelicans In Much-Needed Win Over Spurs
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NEW ORLEANS- Brandon Ingam nearly outscored the San Antonio Spurs by himself in the first quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans never looked back in a 119-84 win in the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans kept pace in the playoff race but are still stuck watching the scoreboard to see if they lept up the standings tonight.
The Pelicans only shot 36.8% from the floor in the opening frame but they did hit all 12 free throws, including an 8-8 start from the charity stripe for Ingram. Ingram missed only six shots (10-16) all night and was perfect from the free-throw line (10-10).
CJ McCollum (15pts, 8 rebs, 4 ast), Jonas Valanciunas (19 pts, 15 rebs), and Trey Murphy III (17 pts, 3 rebs) provided too much supporting firepower for the Spurs to keep up. Herb Jones (4 pts, 4 ast, 2 rebs, 1 steal) missed both free throw attempts and a pair of three-pointers but was still able to affect the game in a way that helped corral Gregg Popovich's team.
Mar 21, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) looks to pass the ball against New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (5) and center Jonas Valanciunas (17) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
The visiting Spurs had 16 points after the first 12 minutes of action. Ingram was sitting on 12 points after the first quarter and ended with 32 points and 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1 block. The former NBA All-Star had all 7 assists in the first half and the focus on sharing the ball led to a 37-point second quarter for New Orleans.
Ingram also had 5 turnovers and only scored four points in the second quarter thanks to a comfortable lead. He got some much-needed rest as San Antonio hit only five three-pointers in the first 24 minutes and Willie Green's squad led by 25 going into halftime.
San Antonio's 39 points at halftime came off of 31.1% shooting from the field. Sandro Mamukelashvili (20 pts, 5 rebs) was their leading scorer going into halftime with 12 points. Former Pelican Devonte Graham and Tre Jones had 15 each for San Antonio to keep the scoreline somewhat respectable. Keita Bates-Diop (12 pts)was the only other visiting player to hit double figures in scoring.
The home team come out of the midway break focused on finishing the job. Just a few nights after dropping a heartbreaker to the Houston Rockets, Ingram removed all doubt about the game's results with 16 points in the third quarter alone.
The Pelicans have won all four games against the Spurs this season by an average of over 15 points. New Orleans has now won 25% of their games (7 of 35) against the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
New Orleans will hopefully get an update on Zion Williamson's status before they are back in action at home against the reeling Charlotte Hornets (23-50) in a couple of days. Extending the winning streak to three on Thursday would likely push the Pelicans back into an NBA Play-In Tournament spot. A loss would leave them lingering on the outside looking in.
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