Balanced effort allows Pels to roll past Nets

CJ McCollum scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring effort and the host New Orleans Pelicans never trailed in a 112-85 rout of the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.

McCollum was joined in double figures by six teammates as Herbert Jones scored 14, Jose Alvarado had 13 off the bench, Brandon Ingram scored 12, Jonas Valanciunas added 11 points and 12 rebounds, rookie Jordan Hawkins scored 11 off the bench, and Zion Williamson added 10.

New Orleans made its first four 3-point attempts and finished 16 of 39 from beyond the arc compared to 11 of 43 for Brooklyn. The Pelicans also out-shot the Nets from the floor 46.6 percent to 35.7 percent.

Cam Johnson scored 17 points, Mikal Bridges had 13 and Day'Ron Sharpe added 12 to lead the Nets, who lost their fourth straight game and for the ninth time in 11 games.

New Orleans led by 14 points at the end of the first quarter and by 25 at halftime before leading by as many as 32 points in the third and holding an 85-58 advantage at the end of the period.

Both teams substituted liberally in the second half and no one on either team played as many as 30 minutes for the game.

The Pelicans made their first five field-goal attempts, including four 3-pointers, and raced to a 16-3 lead.

Johnson made two 3-pointers to help the Nets get within seven points, but New Orleans rebuilt the lead to 16 points twice and held a 32-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Pelicans made 6 of 9 3-pointers in the period.

McCollum made two 3-pointers and New Orleans started the second quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 22-point lead.

Brooklyn trimmed the lead to 17 on two occasions before Jones scored the final six points of a 10-0 Pelicans run. New Orleans didn't score during the final 2 1/2 minutes and Bridges' layup left the Pelicans with a 59-34 halftime lead.

—Field Level Media