Zion Williamson has 24 points and 14 rebounds to power the Pelicans past the Jazz, 136-123
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Zion Williamson highlighted a 24-point, 14-rebound performance with an array of thunderous dunks during a dominant fourth-quarter stint, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night to open a two-game set.
The teams will meet again in New Orleans on Monday night.
CJ McCollum made his first five 3-pointers on his way to 26 points, and the Pelicans got 19 points each from Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III en route to their third straight victory and fourth in five games.
Keyonte George scored 26 points for Utah, and Collin Sexton had 24. The Jazz (10-30) have lost five of six and have the fewest victories in the Western Conference, one behind the Pelicans (11-32).
New Orleans led b 26 when Daniel Theis' 3-pointer made it 50-24 early in the second quarter. But Utah outscored New Orleans 28-11 during the rest of period to make it 61-52 at halftime before the Pelicans pulled away again for good in the second half.
Jazz: Foward Lauri Markkanen missed his third straight game because of lower back spasms, adding to an lengthy injury list that also includes Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis) and John Collins (left hip). That made it tough for Utah to stay with a Pelicans squad that is getting healthier and playing better.
Pelicans: Rookie center Yves Missi sat out with a non-COVID illness. Theis started for him and had his best game this season, scoring 18 points - including a pair of 3s - and grabbing eight rebounds. Reserve rookie center Karlo Matkovic saw his first action in five games and blocked two shots.
Williamson scored nine points in the first 3:48 of the fourth quarter, highlighted by his explosive driving dunk over center Drew Eubanks and his soaring alley-oop jam of Murphy's lob, giving New Orleans a 111-90 lead.
New Orleans made a season-high 22 3-pointers and finished 22 of 50 (44%) from deep.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Drew Eubanks vs. Daniel Theis (Keyonte George gains possession) | ||
| 11:48 |  | Drew Eubanks turnover (bad pass) (Trey Murphy III steals) | ||
| 11:30 | | Zion Williamson misses two point driving layup | ||
| 11:28 | | Drew Eubanks defensive rebound | ||
| 11:19 | | +3 | Svi Mykhailiuk makes three point jump shot (Collin Sexton assists) | 3-0 |
| 11:02 | | Trey Murphy III misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 10:59 | | Collin Sexton defensive rebound | ||
| 10:56 | | Svi Mykhailiuk misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:53 | | CJ McCollum defensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Zion Williamson misses two point cutting layup | ||
| 10:39 | | Zion Williamson offensive rebound | ||
| 10:39 | | Svi Mykhailiuk blocks Zion Williamson's two point putback layup | ||
| 10:38 | | Zion Williamson offensive rebound | ||
| 10:37 | | Zion Williamson misses two point putback layup | ||
| 10:36 | | Zion Williamson offensive rebound | ||
| 10:26 | | +3 | CJ McCollum makes three point pullup jump shot (Dejounte Murray assists) | 3-3 |
| 10:14 | | Svi Mykhailiuk turnover (out of bounds step) | ||
| 10:01 | | Dejounte Murray misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:59 | | Daniel Theis offensive rebound | ||
| 9:59 | | Daniel Theis misses two point tip layup | ||
| 9:57 | | Zion Williamson offensive rebound | ||
| 9:54 | | +3 | CJ McCollum makes three point jump shot (Zion Williamson assists) | 3-6 |
| 9:33 | | +3 | Keyonte George makes three point pullup jump shot (Drew Eubanks assists) | 6-6 |
| 9:16 | | Cody Williams shooting foul (Daniel Theis draws the foul) | ||
| 9:16 | | +1 | Daniel Theis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 6-7 |
| 9:16 | | +1 | Daniel Theis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-8 |
| 8:57 | | Keyonte George misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 8:55 | | Zion Williamson defensive rebound | ||
| 8:50 | | Cody Williams shooting foul (Dejounte Murray draws the foul) | ||
| 8:50 | | +1 | Dejounte Murray makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 6-9 |
| 8:50 | | +1 | Dejounte Murray makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-10 |
| 8:32 | | Zion Williamson personal foul (Drew Eubanks draws the foul) | ||
| 8:26 | | Keyonte George misses two point driving layup | ||
| 8:24 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 8:18 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point running layup (Trey Murphy III assists) | 6-12 |
| 8:03 | | Zion Williamson shooting foul (Drew Eubanks draws the foul) | ||
| 8:03 | | +1 | Drew Eubanks makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 7-12 |
| 8:03 | | +1 | Drew Eubanks makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 8-12 |
| 7:52 | | +3 | CJ McCollum makes three point stepback jump shot (Daniel Theis assists) | 8-15 |
| 7:43 | | CJ McCollum personal foul (Drew Eubanks draws the foul) | ||
| 7:43 | | Jazz 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:32 | | Svi Mykhailiuk misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:29 | | Dejounte Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 7:21 | | +3 | Trey Murphy III makes three point jump shot (Dejounte Murray assists) | 8-18 |
| 7:00 | | Collin Sexton misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:57 | | Keyonte George offensive rebound | ||
| 6:54 | | Collin Sexton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:51 | | Daniel Theis defensive rebound | ||
| 6:44 | | +3 | CJ McCollum makes three point running jump shot (Dejounte Murray assists) | 8-21 |
| 6:32 | | Svi Mykhailiuk turnover (bad pass) (Dejounte Murray steals) | ||
| 6:28 | | Collin Sexton shooting foul (Trey Murphy III draws the foul) | ||
| 6:28 | | +1 | Trey Murphy III makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 8-22 |
| 6:28 | | Trey Murphy III misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 6:27 | | Svi Mykhailiuk defensive rebound | ||
| 6:17 | | Brice Sensabaugh misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:15 | | Dejounte Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 6:09 | | Svi Mykhailiuk personal foul (Dejounte Murray draws the foul) | ||
| 6:01 | | +3 | CJ McCollum makes three point pullup jump shot (Trey Murphy III assists) | 8-25 |
| 5:41 | | Brice Sensabaugh misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:39 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl defensive rebound | ||
| 5:27 | | CJ McCollum misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:25 | | Kyle Filipowski defensive rebound | ||
| 5:10 | | Kyle Filipowski turnover (traveling) | ||
| 5:00 | | CJ McCollum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:58 | | Isaiah Collier defensive rebound | ||
| 4:53 | | Brice Sensabaugh turnover (bad pass) (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl steals) | ||
| 4:47 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point running alley-oop dunk (CJ McCollum assists) | 8-27 |
| 4:33 | | Brice Sensabaugh turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 4:23 | | +2 | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl makes two point jump shot (CJ McCollum assists) | 8-29 |
| 4:07 | | Cody Williams misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:04 | | Dejounte Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 3:58 | | CJ McCollum misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 3:56 | | Brice Sensabaugh defensive rebound | ||
| 3:36 | | +3 | Brice Sensabaugh makes three point pullup jump shot (Kyle Filipowski assists) | 11-29 |
| 3:26 | | Dejounte Murray misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:24 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl offensive rebound | ||
| 3:22 | | +2 | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl makes two point putback layup | 11-31 |
| 3:11 | | +2 | Collin Sexton makes two point driving layup | 13-31 |
| 2:54 | | +3 | Dejounte Murray makes three point jump shot (CJ McCollum assists) | 13-34 |
| 2:43 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl shooting foul (Isaiah Collier draws the foul) | ||
| 2:43 | | Pelicans 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:43 | | Isaiah Collier misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 2:43 | | Jazz offensive rebound | ||
| 2:43 | | +1 | Isaiah Collier makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-34 |
| 2:30 | | Jordan Hawkins turnover (lost ball) (Elijah Harkless steals) | ||
| 2:24 | | +2 | Brice Sensabaugh makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 16-34 |
| 2:06 | | Jose Alvarado misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:02 | | Brice Sensabaugh defensive rebound | ||
| 1:55 | | Javonte Green blocks Oscar Tshiebwe's two point cutting layup | ||
| 1:54 | | Jazz offensive rebound | ||
| 1:46 | | +2 | Collin Sexton makes two point pullup jump shot | 18-34 |
| 1:28 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point cutting layup (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl assists) | 18-36 |
| 1:11 | | Jose Alvarado personal foul (Collin Sexton draws the foul) | ||
| 1:11 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 19-36 |
| 1:11 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-36 |
| 0:57 | | Jordan Hawkins misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 0:55 | | Jordan Hawkins offensive rebound | ||
| 0:50 | | +3 | Jordan Hawkins makes three point jump shot (Javonte Green assists) | 20-39 |
| 0:34 | | Zion Williamson blocks Brice Sensabaugh's three point jump shot | ||
| 0:32 | | Jazz offensive rebound | ||
| 0:27 | | Isaiah Collier misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:26 | | Jazz offensive rebound | ||
| 0:26 | | Jazz turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 0:07 | | +3 | Jordan Hawkins makes three point jump shot (Zion Williamson assists) | 20-42 |
| 0:02 | | Zion Williamson shooting foul (Collin Sexton draws the foul) | ||
| 0:02 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-42 |
| 0:02 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-42 |
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:50 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:47 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl offensive rebound | ||
| 11:42 | | Cody Williams blocks Jose Alvarado's two point driving layup | ||
| 11:41 | | Daniel Theis offensive rebound | ||
| 11:40 | | +2 | Daniel Theis makes two point putback layup | 22-44 |
| 11:25 | | Svi Mykhailiuk misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:23 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl defensive rebound | ||
| 11:17 | | Cody Williams shooting foul (Jordan Hawkins draws the foul) | ||
| 11:17 | | +1 | Jordan Hawkins makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 22-45 |
| 11:17 | | Jordan Hawkins misses regular free throw 2 of 3 | ||
| 11:17 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 11:17 | | Jordan Hawkins misses regular free throw 3 of 3 | ||
| 11:16 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl offensive rebound | ||
| 11:11 | | Drew Eubanks blocks Daniel Theis's two point driving hook shot | ||
| 11:09 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 11:09 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point alley-oop dunk (Jose Alvarado assists) | 22-47 |
| 10:47 | | +2 | Keyonte George makes two point driving floating jump shot (Isaiah Collier assists) | 24-47 |
| 10:36 | | +3 | Daniel Theis makes three point jump shot (Jose Alvarado assists) | 24-50 |
| 10:22 | | Svi Mykhailiuk misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:18 | | Jose Alvarado defensive rebound | ||
| 10:12 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:10 | | Drew Eubanks defensive rebound | ||
| 10:04 | | Isaiah Collier misses two point running layup | ||
| 10:02 | | Jose Alvarado defensive rebound | ||
| 9:54 | | Trey Murphy III turnover (lost ball) (Keyonte George steals) | ||
| 9:46 | | +2 | Drew Eubanks makes two point cutting dunk (Isaiah Collier assists) | 26-50 |
| 9:20 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point jump shot (Jose Alvarado assists) | 26-52 |
| 9:19 | | Jazz 60 second timeout | ||
| 9:01 | | Daniel Theis kicked ball violation | ||
| 8:48 | | +2 | Svi Mykhailiuk makes two point pullup jump shot | 28-52 |
| 8:24 | | Isaiah Collier blocks Zion Williamson's two point driving layup | ||
| 8:22 | | Jazz defensive rebound | ||
| 8:22 | | Jazz 60 second timeout | ||