Brandon Ingram nets 40 as Pelicans overwhelm Wizards

Field Level Media|published: Wed 13th December, 21:37 2023

Dec 13, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) drives to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17) defends in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. credits: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Ingram scored 26 of his season-high 40 points in the first half to lift the visiting New Orleans Pelicans to a 142-122 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Ingram made 14 of 23 shots from the floor and 11 of 12 free throws to eclipse his previous season-high point total of 31, set twice in a win over the Kings on Nov. 20 and a loss to the Rockets on Nov. 10.

Trey Murphy III drained six 3-pointers to highlight his 27-point performance and CJ McCollum added 22 points to pace the Pelicans to a season-high point total.

Jonas Valanciunas recorded 16 points and 18 rebounds and Naji Marshall collected 16 points and seven assists for New Orleans, which overcame the absence of star Zion Williamson (left ankle sprain) to notch its fifth win in seven outings.

The Pelicans erupted for 47 points in the second, marking a franchise high for that quarter. New Orleans made 52.1 percent of its shots from the floor (50 of 96) and 47.1 percent from 3-point range (16 of 34) for the game.

Washington's Kyle Kuzma scored 23 of his 27 points in the first half. He made 10 of 19 shots from the floor and 4 of 8 from 3-point range.

Rookie Bilal Coulibaly scored 16 points off the bench for the Wizards, who squandered an early 15-point lead in the first quarter en route to losing their sixth game in a row.

Deni Avdija converted a three-point play to trim New Orleans' lead to 67-64 with 1:05 to play in the second quarter before the Pelicans scored the final eight points of the frame. Marshall sank a 3-pointer before Ingram made a layup and also converted from beyond the arc.

Washington pulled within 11 points at 114-103 early in the fourth quarter before New Orleans pulled away. Murphy sank a trio of 3-pointers in just over 90 seconds to highlight a 13-1 run to effectively seal the win.

Kuzma drained three treys and scored 12 points overall to stake the Wizards to a 23-8 lead in the first quarter. The Pelicans flipped the switch from there, scoring 20 of the next 27 points to end the quarter.

—Field Level Media