Historic first quarter propels Pelicans past Pacers

Field Level Media|published: Fri 1st March, 22:38 2024

Mar 1, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) reacts after he hits a basket against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at Smoothie King Center. credits: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Ingram scored 34 points, Trey Murphy III matched his season high with 28 and the host New Orleans Pelicans dominated the Indiana Pacers 129-102 on Friday night.

New Orleans tied the franchise record for points in a quarter as it raced to a 48-26 lead at the end of the first.

Jonas Valanciunas, who played just seven scoreless minutes in the Pelicans' 123-114 loss at Indiana on Wednesday, had 15 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes on Friday. CJ McCollum added 14 for New Orleans.

The Pelicans shot 55.8 percent from the floor and 46.9 percent (15 of 32) on 3-point attempts.

Isaiah Jackson had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Bennedict Mathurin scored 13 points, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner had 12 each and Andrew Nembhard added 10 to lead the Pacers.

Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana's leading scorer and the NBA leader in assists, was held scoreless, missing all seven of his shots, six of which were 3-point tries. He contributed three assists in 23 minutes.

New Orleans, up by 19 at halftime, started the third quarter with a 12-1 run that featured seven points from Ingram. The surge gave the Pelicans an 89-57 lead on their way to a 108-72 advantage at the end of the period.

The Pelicans, who gave up 40 first-quarter points on Wednesday and trailed by as many as 20 points early in the second quarter that night, more than turned the tables on the Pacers in the early going on Friday.

The Pelicans made 20 of 22 field-goal attempts in the first quarter — the highest made field-goal total for a period in team history.

The Pelicans made all five 3-point attempts in the quarter and all three free throws. Ingram had both misses, but he made his other nine attempts and scored 19 points.

The hot shooting continued as New Orleans made its first two shots of the second quarter. After an Ingram miss, Murphy made a 3-pointer for a 57-26 lead.

The Pelicans went cold and Indiana used a 15-0 spurt to complete a 23-3 run that trimmed the deficit to 11 points. Larry Nance Jr.'s layup ended a 5 1/2-minute field-goal drought for New Orleans, and McCollum followed with a 3-pointer.

Murphy scored the Pelicans' final eight points of the quarter as they rebuilt the lead to 77-56 entering halftime.

—Field Level Media

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