Zion Williamson scored a team-high 29 points Monday to help the New Orleans Pelicans to a rare 143-130 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Saddiq Bey had 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Trey Murphy III also scored 20 points for the Pelicans, who snapped a nine-game losing streak. Jose Alvarado had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Jeremiah Fears scored 15 points. Yves Missi finished with a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds and Bryce McGowens scored 11. Micah Peavy scored 10 points for New Orleans, which recorded its first victory since head coach Willie Green was fired and interim James Borrego took over on November 15.
Ayo Dosunmu led Chicago with 28 points, followed by Coby White’s 24 and Josh Giddey’s 21. Jalen Smith scored 13 points, Jevon Carter added 11 and Tre Jones had 10 points and 11 assists for the Bulls, who lost their seventh game in 10 tries. Matas Buzelis scored 10 points in the loss.
After trailing by 16 at halftime, Chicago cut its deficit in half on Dosunmu’s layup at 7:52 of the third quarter.
New Orleans then pushed the lead back to 18 after Fears’ layup and 3-point basket went on a 9-0 run to give the Pelicans a 96-78 lead.
Julian Phillips’ 3-pointer brought the Bulls within 11 with 9:25 to play, before Williamson’s back-to-back baskets gave New Orleans a 121-106 lead. The Pelicans took an 18-point lead on Alvarado’s layup with 4:40 left.
After Chicago put up another point, Bey’s layup gave New Orleans a 10-point lead with 1:14 left to seal the victory.
With 1:57 left in the first quarter, Carter’s 3-point basket cut the Bulls’ deficit to one, before Alvarado connected on a pair of triples to help New Orleans take a 37-30 lead in the second.
From there, the Pelicans’ lead grew to 20 on a 15-2 run to start the second quarter, as New Orleans took a 52-32 lead on McGowens’ layup at the 7:10 mark.
After trailing by 22 points, Chicago cut the lead to eight on Smith’s three-pointer with 2:57 left in the first half. New Orleans responded to the Bulls’ surge with an 11-3 run to close the half, including Williamson’s nine points in the final 2:25. The Pelicans led 74-58 at the break.
–Field level media
