Pelicans Sets Franchise Record In Blowout Win Versus Jazz

New Orleans, LA - The New Orleans Pelicans dominated the Utah Jazz 153-124 Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Center. The victory marked a nice trend for the Pelicans in bouncing back strong after recent losses. They did the same after losses to the Clippers, Nuggets, and now the Suns. New Orleans ties the season series with the Jazz at two games a piece.

New Orleans started the first quarter aggressively, led by veteran guard CJ McCollum. He started 3/3 from beyond the arc for a game-high 11 points in the opening period. The Pelicans stretched their lead to 29-19 before Utah went on a 9-0 run late in the quarter to close the gap. The Pelicans' three-point shooting was much improved to start, especially considering how they shot the ball against the Suns on Friday night.

New Orleans made five three-pointers in the quarter, half of what they made the entire game on Friday. Collin Sexton led the Jazz with nine points, and New Orleans took a 34-30 advantage into the second quarter. The hot shooting for the Pelicans continued after they opened up the second quarter on a 16-3 run, culminated by a monster alley-oop dunk by Zion Williamson from Dyson Daniels.

CJ McCollum continued his impressive first-half offensive display. He finished 5/5 shooting from three in the first half. Herb Jones had a big first half as well, scoring 15 points, while the Pels as a team dished out 18 assists. They scored the most first-half points of the season, pouring in 77 points and leading by 18 at the break.

Utah started the third quarter making 3/5 shots from beyond the arc to cut the New Orleans lead to single digits. The Pelicans then went on a 12-2 run, extending their lead comfortably into double-digits. Coach Willie Green made an interesting decision by starting Larry Nance, Jr. over Jonas Valanciunas to start the second half, and it paid dividends. Jonas dominated the Jazz reserves in the third quarter, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds.

Coach Green also talked about putting the ball in Zion's hands more throughout the game. Williamson tallied ten assists through three quarters, a career-high for him. New Orleans led 115-91 heading into the final period. The Pelicans left little doubt about the outcome of this game early in the fourth. McCollum hit two quick three-pointers, and Williamson threw down another monster dunk to all but put this game away. McCollum led all scorers with 33 points on 9/13 shooting from beyond the arc.

Both teams emptied their benches with about five minutes left in the game. The Pelicans' execution was almost flawless throughout the game. They finished with single-digit turnovers and a franchise record in points scored. New Orleans dished out 41 assists and outrebounded Utah 58-38. New Orleans ends its four-game home stand Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.