Postgame wrap: Pelicans 103, 76ers 95

New Orleans appeared destined to pummel a third straight opponent Friday, building a massive first-half lead once again while facing an Eastern Conference squad. The Pelicans recently defeated Indiana and Toronto by a combined 68 points, then built a whopping 35-point first-half advantage against shorthanded Philadelphia. However, the 76ers made an extended second-half run, before New Orleans ultimately prevailed. The visitors sealed a 2-0 start to a three-game road trip when Herb Jones drained his only bucket of the game, a corner three-pointer in the final minute. Philadelphia won the latter half 61-40, but couldn’t overcome what was a 29-point deficit at the break.

Z > Philly.
Zion Williamson entered Friday’s matchup with a career scoring average of 33.0 against Philadelphia, his top number vs. any club. Williamson may not have reached that bottom-line figure (23 points), but his first half was filled with contributions that put the Pelicans in front, including 14 points. More importantly, his stat line featured several other goodies (season-best 12 rebounds, two steals, three blocks) in a very active 34-minute outing.
Near-perfect ‘cut’ from The Knife.
Playing not far from his birthplace of Atlantic City, Naji Marshall delivered one of his most valuable performances of this season, this time doing it at the opposite end of the floor from his usual best work. The fourth-year, defense-first forward joined New Orleans’ first-half barrage by going 3/3 from three-point range and scoring 11 points, then tacked on eight more (out of only 40 in the second half by the Pels) for a 19-point night in only 19 minutes. NOLA outscored Philly by 23 in Marshall’s stints, but lost by 15 when he was on the bench. Marshall shot 7/8 from the field and made all four of his three-point attempts.
First-quarter juggernauts.
Entering Friday, New Orleans was the NBA’s second-best team since Jan. 1 in first quarters, with a plus-15.0 net rating (trailing only Minnesota at 20.3). For a third straight time during their win streak, the Pelicans raced to a big offensive start, tallying 36 points Friday, while limiting the 76ers to only 15. Philadelphia had extreme difficulty all night in halfcourt situations, able to break through a bit offensively later by forcing turnovers and creating an unsettled New Orleans defense. Five different Pelicans players sank a three-pointer in the first quarter.

34: Philadelphia first-half points, tied for the fewest New Orleans has allowed in a game this season during the opening 24 minutes.
20: New Orleans road wins, nearly sealing a winning record for the season. The Pelicans actually will play 42 away contests in 2023-24 due to the In-Season Tournament, so they need two more triumphs to finish over .500.
10: Seasons since New Orleans swept a season series vs. Philadelphia, dating back to 2013-14, the first campaign as the rebranded Pelicans. That season also represented one low point of the “Process” Sixers, who went 19-63.