New Orleans, LA — Brandon Ingram marked his return from a five-game absence with a stellar 29-point performance, and Herb Jones capped off his first game back from a shoulder injury by blocking Devin Booker’s last-second shot, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a 126-124 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.
CJ McCollum contributed 25 points, though he missed a crucial free throw with three seconds left, giving Phoenix one last opportunity to either tie or win. Booker, who finished with 28 points, received an inbound pass at the three-point line and attempted a shot, but Jones, who hadn’t played in 18 games, swatted it away, sealing the win for New Orleans.
Jones had already made a significant impact earlier, recording one of his four steals with 2:02 remaining. He then hit a left-corner three-pointer just 13 seconds later to put the Pelicans ahead 121-117. He finished with 12 points in total.
Trey Murphy added 19 points, Dejounte Murray chipped in 17, and rookie center Yves Missi grabbed 12 rebounds for New Orleans.
Bradley Beal led Phoenix with 24 points, but despite the absence of star forward Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) and center Jusuf Nurkic (right thigh bruise), the Suns were still within striking distance.
Takeaways Of The Game:
Suns: Phoenix, playing without Durant and Nurkic, showed resilience and came close to pulling off the win despite their shorthanded roster.
Pelicans: With five of their top six players back on the court together for the first time since late October, the Pelicans looked significantly more competitive.
Key Moment Of The Game: McCollum’s driving floater off the glass put New Orleans in front with 35 seconds remaining. He then assisted on Murphy’s alley-oop dunk, which extended the lead to 125-121 with 15 seconds to go.
Key Stat Of The Game: The Pelicans were on fire from beyond the arc in the third quarter, making seven of nine three-point attempts. This helped them erase a 65-54 deficit and take a 99-93 lead heading into the final period.
Up Next: The Suns travel to Miami on Saturday, while the Pelicans will host Oklahoma City on the same day.
