It seemed like Brandon Ingram couldn’t miss during Friday’s first quarter. The same was true for Trey Murphy during the second quarter. With the pair of New Orleans forwards scorching the Smoothie King Center nets, the Pelicans completed a total reversal from Wednesday’s loss to the Pacers, this time building a 31-point lead prior to intermission. Although Indiana sliced its deficit to 11 at one stage, the hosts quickly regained a 30-point cushion and rolled to a dominant victory. “I thought we did a great job at setting the tone from the beginning of the game,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said.
THREE POINTS
B.I. playing H-O-R-S-E.
Ingram’s spectacular offensive performance was highlighted by him using spin to drop in an improbable and-one layup high off the glass, then tossing the ball off the backboard to himself to set up a dunk. Earlier, he sank silky mid-range jumpers to start 9/11 from the field and rack up 19 points in the opening quarter. Ingram authored one of his top individual performances of the campaign, finishing with 34 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. “(Ingram) was incredible,” Green said. “He set the tone on both ends of the floor, and it was just fun to watch him play with that force, that pace and confidence. His teammates all rallied behind him.”
Trey from everywhere.
For the second time over three games this week, Murphy was raining in shots, following up his big night in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with a 28-point outing, consisting of 8/14 shooting (6/12 on threes) and 6/9 foul shooting. The third-year pro notched 17 points in the second quarter, expanding the margin in rapid fashion. Those three missed free throws, however, were a point of discussion in his postgame press conference, with none other than Murphy's own mother bringing up that she was disappointed that he missed two in a row on one trip to the charity stripe.
Shutdown defense.
Even a mediocre defensive performance would’ve been enough to win Friday, but New Orleans took it to one of the NBA’s premier attacks, limiting the Pacers to 40 percent shooting through three quarters. After allowing Indiana to tally 123 points two nights earlier, the Pelicans held Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton scoreless Friday, the first time Haliburton has been blanked since 2021. Indiana was outscored by 40 points in Haliburton’s 23 minutes of playing time (Pascal Siakam was minus-43 in 20 minutes). The Pelicans nearly became the first opponent to hold the Pacers under 100 points in a game this season.
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BY THE NUMBERS
20/22: New Orleans shooting from the field in the first quarter, en route to tying the franchise record for points in any period (48).
67/67/83: Pelicans first-half shooting splits, creating a 77-56 edge on the scoreboard.
1, 1.5: New Orleans lead in games in the West standings over seventh-place Sacramento (which won Friday in Minnesota) and eighth-place Dallas (lost at Boston). Several relevant West teams will play multiple games before the Pelicans return to game action Tuesday at Toronto.