Booker, Suns Extend Pelicans Losing Streak
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The Phoenix Suns defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 118-114 Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The positive result for Phoenix ties the season series with the Pelicans 2-2 after New Orleans defeated the Suns twice last weekend. The loss drops New Orleans to 18-11 on the season on the heels of this current winless (0-3) road trip. This loss will sting a little bit as the Pelicans had a 24-point lead at one point in the second quarter before Devin Booker took over the game.
Booker finished with a season-high 58 points on 21/35 shooting. Those 58 points given up to Booker were the most this New Orleans franchise has given up to an opponent in its history. The previous mark was by Damon Stoudemire back in 2005 when he scored 54 against the then-named Hornets. Booker attempted more free throws than the entire Pelicans team on Saturday as his aggressiveness got him the benefit of the whistle most of the evening.
Before Booker took over in the second half, CJ McCollum set the tone early in the game. McCollum scored 15 points in the first quarter and looked fully revitalized from the COVID-19 illness that caused him to miss time earlier in the month. Another Pelican who had a strong performance to start was Jonas Valanciunas who scored 10 first-quarter points after scoring just 6 the entire game against Utah. The strong start propelled New Orleans to a 63-46 halftime lead. After that, the game turned into the Devin Booker show.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans in scoring with 30 points on 12/15 shooting. Turnovers, however, ultimately helped the Suns creep back into the game. After just committing 6 turnovers in the first half, the Pelicans committed 11 in the second half. Those turnovers led to 27 points for the Suns and helped energized their crowd for the comeback. New Orleans just does not sustain enough offense to wart off the Phoenix comeback bid. During the last 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, the Pelicans only mustered 6 points while Phoenix scored 25 in the same timeframe to cut the lead down to just 5 heading into the 4th quarter.
Both McCollum and Valanciunas cooled off in the second half where they combined for a total of 5 points and Williamson couldn't shoulder the entire offensive load alone. The 24-point comeback by the Suns is the 4th largest by an opponent in the Pelicans' history. Chris Paul chipped in 18 points and 8 assists for the Suns who played the game without Deandre Ayton and Cam Payne. The Pelicans were once again without Brandon Ingram who is still recovering from a toe contusion.
New Orleans will return home to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night in what is sure to be a star-studded matchup between Zion Williamson and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The game will set off 4 out of the next 5 at home for the Pelicans who boost one of the best home records in the NBA.
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