Ingram, Zion combine for 60 as Pelicans slide past Nuggets
FILE – Brandon Ingram #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans shoots against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first quarter at Moda Center on March 18, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Steph Chambers / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson scored 30 points apiece, and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans beat the Denver Nuggets 113-108 on Sunday.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 20 points, Josh Hart had 12 and Steven Adams grabbed 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which has won three in a row in Denver.
The Pelicans played without Lonzo Ball due to a right hip flexor strain.
30 for @B_Ingram13.
30 for @Zionwilliamson.
W for @PelicansNBA. pic.twitter.com/pvfUO75VuC
— NBA (@NBA) March 21, 2021
Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 11th triple-double of the season for Denver. Jamal Murray scored 23 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 17 points and nine rebounds and Will Barton added 16 points for the Nuggets.
New Orleans led by one early in the fourth when Hart hit a 3-pointer and Williamson two free throws to make it 92-86. Denver got baskets by Porter, Jokic and Barton to tie it, and after an offensive foul by Williamson, Jokic hit a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets ahead 95-92.
Adams split two free throws and Eric Bledsoe tied it with a layup.
Williamson made two free throws and a dunk around a layup by Jokic to put the Pelicans ahead 101-100, but Jokic hit a soft jumper with 1:53 left to give Denver the lead.
Ingram put New Orleans back in front 107-104 with a pair of three-point plays with 57.9 seconds left. Paul Millsap made one free throw for Denver and Ingram drained two on the other end to put the Pelicans ahead by four with 29.1 seconds left.
Jokic and Murray missed 3-pointers and New Orleans closed it out.
The Pelicans used a big second quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a 58-51 halftime lead. Williamson had 10 of his 15 first-half points in the second, and New Orleans outrebounded Denver 30-15 in the first two quarters.
It stayed a seven-point lead early in the third before the Nuggets started to rally. Jokic, who was quiet offensively in the first half, scored 14 points, nine of those on a personal streak that briefly gave Denver a one-point lead.
Ingram hit a 3-pointer and a jumper, and the Pelicans took an 83-80 lead into the fourth.
