Zion Williamson scored 29 points off the bench and every Pelican to play scored as New Orleans extended its season-high winning streak to four games with Saturday’s 128-109 rout of visiting Indiana.
Williamson’s game-high scoring performance came on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor with 11-of-13 made at the foul line. The Pelicans were 29-of-34 at the charity stripe as a team, getting to the line effectively behind an aggressive attack of the rim that also produced 70 points in the paint.
Derik Queen led the Pelicans with 10 rebounds and scored 17 points for his second double-double in as many contests. Queen also shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor.
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points to lead Indiana, which lost for the fourth time in a row. Johnny Furphy (18 points) and T.J. McConnell (16 points, 8 assists) helped off the bench.
The Pelicans came out of the gate strongly with 44 first-quarter points. While the Pelicans shot 52.9% from the field, New Orleans limited Indiana to 40-of-94 shooting that included 8-for-42 from 3-point range.
Trey Murphy III, who scored 20-plus points in each of his previous seven games, finished with 17 on Saturday but was the catalyst of a pivotal run in the first quarter. Murphy converted a successful and-one, knocked down a 3-pointer, and fed Karlo Matkovic on an alley-oop as part of a 10-2 run that put the Pelicans ahead 32-15.
Murphy also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Jordan Poole led the Pelicans with six assists off the bench.
Poole and Saddiq Bey also rounded out New Orleans’ five double-figure scorers, going for 16 and 18 points, respectively.
The Pelicans posted a 49-42 edge on the boards while earning their first four-game winning streak since Jan. 14-20, 2025. They have not produced a five-game streak since March 19-27, 2023.
–Field Level Media
