Miles Bridges paces double-figure scoring surge, as Hornets rout Pelicans

Miles Bridges scored 26 points to lead 7 Charlotte scorers in double figures as the hot-shooting Hornets defeated the host New Orleans Pelicans 142-120 on Friday night.

Terry Rozier added 25 points, LaMelo Ball 17, Montrezl Harrell 16, Cody Martin 15, Isaiah Thomas 14 and Kelly Oubre Jr. 10 for the Hornets, who shot 59.8 percent from the floor, including 46.8 percent on 3-pointers. They had 41 assists on 52 field goals.

Charlotte had won just three of its previous 10 games but took command by outscoring New Orleans 42-27 in the 3rd quarter.

For New Orleans, rookie Trey Murphy III had season-highs of 32 points (making seven 3-pointers) and 9 rebounds, Devonte' Graham scored 19 points, Willy Hernangomez added 15, Naji Marshall 14, Jaxson Hayes 13, Herbert Jones 12 and Jonas Valanciunas 10 to lead the short-handed Pelicans, who lost their 4th consecutive game.

New Orleans played its 3rd consecutive game without leading scorer Brandon Ingram, who is sidelined by a hamstring strain. Second-leading scorer CJ McCollum, who had scored 32 points in each of the first 2 games that Ingram missed, also was sidelined after entering the health and safety protocol Thursday.

The Hornets began the 3rd quarter with a 16-4 run to open a 77-59 lead with 8:57 left in the period.

The Pelicans got within 14 points on Murphy's 3-pointer midway through the quarter, but Rozier made a 3-pointer and Oubre two 3-pointers as Charlotte expanded its lead to 103-82 at the end of the period.

The score was tied four times and the lead changed hands four times during the first quarter. Ball's free throw broke the final tie and gave the Hornets a 25-24 lead at the end of the period.

The second quarter featured 10 lead changes and two ties before Harrell's 3-point play broke the final tie and started a 10-0 Charlotte run.

Hayes scored the Pelicans' final six points to trim the Hornets' lead to 61-55 at halftime.

-reuters-

NBA: Westbrook's triple-double carries Thunder past Pelicans

Russell Westbrook scored 23 points and recorded his second consecutive triple-double as the host Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 122-116 on Thursday night.

Westbrook added 17 rebounds and 16 assists, sealing his league-leading 15th triple-double of the season less than two minutes into the second half. The Thunder are now 6-0 all-time when Westbrook has at least 15 points, rebounds and assists.

On Tuesday, Westbrook recorded 29 points, 14 assists and 10 boards against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The win was the Thunder's fourth in a row. The Pelicans have lost four of five.

Oklahoma City took the lead for good midway through the second quarter and then steadily built their edge through the next quarter and a half before New Orleans made its run.

By the time 3:13 had passed in the second half, the Thunder were on top by 22. But then the Pelicans started chipping away, repeatedly cutting the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter.

New Orleans trimmed the margin to five with 2:10 remaining on a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer, but the Thunder immediately answered with a Paul George 3-pointer.

George, who earlier in the day was named an All-Star starter for the third time in his career, finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Thunder outrebounded New Orleans by 16.

George shot 6 of 10 from behind the 3-point arc, helping Oklahoma City hit 14 of 32 3-point attempts.

Holliday led the Pelicans with 22 points while Darius Miller added 21. Holliday also had 13 assists and nine rebounds.

Oklahoma City, who has scored 116 or more points in 10 consecutive games, finished with 33 assists, one off its season-high.

New Orleans was not only without Anthony Davis, who missed his third consecutive game with a finger injury, but three other regular rotation players.

Nikola Mirotic, who sustained a calf strain late in the Pelicans' Wednesday loss to Detroit, will miss at least a week. Julius Randle sat out the game with a right ankle sprain, and E'Twaun Moore missed the game for rest.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Davis nets 34 as Pelicans beat Clippers, stay unbeaten

Anthony Davis had 34 points and 13 rebounds as the host New Orleans Pelicans continued their early-season roll with a 116-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

The Clippers held the Pelicans to 24 fewer points than they had averaged in winning their first two games, but New Orleans still improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Elfrid Payton added 20 points, Nikola Mirotic had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Julius Randle scored 18 points off the bench, and E'Twaun Moore chipped in 14 points.

Tobias Harris led Los Angeles with 26 points, Danilo Gallinari scored 24, Lou Williams added 17 off the bench and Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley had 12 each.

The Clippers led by three points at halftime, but they had trouble scoring for much of the third quarter.

Davis, Mirotic and Payton scored six points each as the Pelicans had a 25-8 run during the first eight minutes of the third to take an 84-70 lead.

In the last four minutes, Los Angeles scored 14 points, nine of which were scored by Williams, to cut New Orleans' lead to 91-84 at the end of the period.

The Pelicans built the lead to 11 midway through the fourth quarter before Gallinari, Beverley and Williams all made a basket to pull the Clippers within 103-98 with five minutes remaining.

Davis made back-to-back baskets, but Harris scored four straight to get Los Angeles within 107-102 with two minutes left.

After Davis hit a 3-pointer, Harris made two free throws, but Payton added a 3-pointer to give New Orleans a 113-104 lead with 52 seconds remaining.

The Pelicans scored fewer than 30 points in a quarter for the first time this season in the first quarter, but still held a 27-26 lead.

Davis and Mirotic each scored four points early and Randle scored 10 of New Orleans' final 13 points in the period.

The Clippers scored eight of the first nine points in the second quarter and led by six on three occasions.

The Pelicans pulled even before Gallinari made two free throws and Beverley made a 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a five-point lead.

The Clippers, who set a club record by making all 26 of their free throws in a victory a against Houston on Sunday night, made nine of their last 10 free throws in the second quarter and took a 62-59 halftime lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com