In the recent past, multi-game road trips sometimes spelled trouble for New Orleans, but things are changing in the Crescent City. Now one of the NBA’s best teams away from home, the Pelicans capped a sweep of a three-game excursion to the Eastern time zone Sunday, again racing to a double-digit early lead. New Orleans’ 11-point halftime edge in Atlanta was relatively modest compared to its previous victories (up 24 at intermission in Toronto, then 29 in Philadelphia), but Pelicans starters regained a significant edge in the third quarter. The Hawks made a few mini-runs, but never seriously threatened from there.
Pelicans Stat Leader Highlights: Trey Murphy III with 28 points vs. Atlanta Hawks 3/10/24
THREE POINTS
Trey time (again).
Third-year forward Trey Murphy began heating up during the team’s late-February visit to New York City and has only accelerated that level of perimeter shooting ever since. Murphy’s 20-point first half Sunday accounted for a big chunk of the offense, highlighted by him going 4/7 from three-point range. He finished with 28 points, featuring six long balls. He’s now made multiple three-pointers in seven straight games, his longest such streak of 2023-24.
West shuffle.
New Orleans has been in the fifth spot for a long stretch by recent West-race standards, but the sixth-place club seems to be changing almost on a daily basis. Part of that is a result of several teams beneath the Pelicans losing commonly since the All-Star break, making the No. 6 seed up for grabs. Sunday (and this weekend in general) was another major positive step forward for New Orleans, with Sacramento and Phoenix both losing over the last 24 hours, combined with the Pelicans now on an NBA-best, active four-game win streak.
Top-six in more ways than one.
A primary goal over the final 18 games will be to finish as a top-six seed in the West and avoid the pressure of the play-in tournament. A big reason the Pelicans may be able to accomplish that is their defense, which entered Sunday ranked sixth in the NBA in efficiency. Although the three opponents on this week’s road trip were shorthanded to various degrees (Scottie Barnes, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young were all DNPs), New Orleans deserves credit for nearly holding all three foes under 100 points, with Atlanta barely creeping over the century mark Sunday. The Raptors and 76ers managed just 98 and 95 points, respectively.
BY THE NUMBERS
19: Zion Williamson second-half points, among his 27. Williamson helped quell any shot of the Hawks mounting a late comeback by dropping in five fourth-quarter buckets.
14/27: Pelicans three-point shooting Sunday. They are now 8-0 this season when they make at least 50 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc.
21-13: New Orleans record on the road. Normally 21 wins would mean clinching a winning record in away games, but the Pelicans are actually playing 42 road contests this season, having lost a home date due to their In-Season Tournament advancement. Only Minnesota has as many road victories in the league.
