Brandon Ingram. Photo from New Orleans Pelicans’ Twitter
Brandon Ingram scored 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting and the New Orleans Pelicans stretched their winning streak to five games with a 124-90 romp over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
CJ McCollum added 17 points and eight assists and Trey Murphy III had 16 points as the Pelicans (38-37) sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, but are within two games of fourth. Jonas Valanciunas collected a season-best 21 rebounds go to with 10 points for New Orleans.
The Pelicans have won by an average of 23.8 points during their five-game winning streak.
🗣️ SHOW OUT pic.twitter.com/HhrK9IjAX0
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 28, 2023
Keon Johnson matched his career high of 20 points for the Trail Blazers (32-43), who lost for the third straight game and ninth in their past 10.
Portland was again without Damian Lillard (calf) as well as fellow starters Jerami Grant (quadriceps), Jusuf Nurkic (knee) and Anfernee Simons (foot).
Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. He averaged 25.7 points over the previous three games.
Kevin Knox II scored 15 points, Drew Eubanks added 12 and Cam Reddish tallied 11 for Portland.
denied by JV and BI finishes it down court 🤝 pic.twitter.com/RxegcXTn1r
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 28, 2023
Josh Richardson added 10 points for New Orleans, which shot 57 percent from the field and was 12 of 28 from 3-point range. The Pelicans held a 53-29 rebounding edge.
Portland was a subpar 7 of 33 from 3-point range (21.2 percent) and connected on 38.9 percent of its overall shots.
New Orleans dominated from the outset and held a 30-12 lead after Dyson Daniels buried a 3-pointer with 2:08 left in the opening quarter. Ingram’s basket with 35.1 seconds left accounted for a 34-14 lead after one period.
The Trail Blazers rattled off eight straight points in the second quarter to move within 49-35 before the Pelicans scored the final nine points of the half to hold a 58-35 lead at the break.
Valanciunas capped a 9-0 run with a tip-in as New Orleans pushed the lead to 30 at 71-41 with 7:16 left in the third quarter. The Pelicans led 89-55 entering the final stanza.
Murphy converted a three-point play to make it a 35-point margin with 7:38 left in the game as New Orleans cruised to the finish.