Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks to shoot against Rudy Gobert #27 and Bojan Bogdanovic #44 of the Utah Jazz during the first half at the Smoothie King Center on March 01, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Jonathan Bachman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram scored 26 points each as the host New Orleans Pelicans held on to defeat the Utah Jazz 129-124 on Monday night.
Lonzo Ball added 23 points, JJ Redick had 17, Josh Hart 13 and Eric Bledsoe 11 as the Pelicans cooled off the team with the NBA’s best record. New Orleans had a 53-39 rebounding advantage, led by Steven Adams’ 11 boards.
Zion, Ingram, Lonzo all score 20+ in the @PelicansNBA W!@Zionwilliamson: 26 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST@B_Ingram13: 26 PTS, 5 AST@ZO2_: 23 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST pic.twitter.com/cD9R5kqET5
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2021
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 31, Rudy Gobert had 22, Donovan Mitchell added 21, Jordan Clarkson had 20 and Mike Conley 10 to lead the Jazz.
Utah, which had won 23 of its past 26 games, including two home victories against New Orleans, fell to 1-2 on a road trip that ends Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The Jazz cut a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to one late in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t pull even.
Utah led five by points at halftime, but Williamson scored 10 quick points to pull New Orleans even at 73 midway through the third quarter.
The score was tied three more times before Redick’s 3-pointer gave the Pelicans an 82-79 lead.
Ball added two free throws and Williamson followed with a driving layup and a three-point play to complete a 10-0 run as the Jazz went scoreless for nearly three minutes.
Williamson scored 15 of his team’s 40 points in the period and New Orleans held a 99-88 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Pelicans scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and Redick’s four-point play pushed their lead to 107-90.
Utah chipped away and got within seven got within 11 points, but Ball answered with a 3-pointer with 3:54 left.
The Jazz made eight consecutive free throws before Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer got them within 125-124 with 47 seconds left.
Ingram missed a jumper and Utah could have taken the lead, but Mitchell missed a layup.
Williamson made two free throws for a three-point lead with 29.5 seconds left.
Conley missed a jumper and Hart broke free for a dunk.