Pelicans break franchise 3-point record in rout of Spurs

Field Level Media|published: Sun 17th December, 18:05 2023

Dec 17, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New Orleans Pelicans Brandon Ingram (14) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. credits: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

CJ McCollum scored 29 points while hitting six of his seven 3-point attempts as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans set a franchise record for 3-pointers and romped to a 146-110 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

New Orleans made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers on 42 tries in its season-high fourth straight victory. The Pelicans led by 10 points at halftime before turning it on in the third quarter, outscoring the Spurs 44-27.

The Spurs struggled in losing their 19th game in their past 20 outings after breaking their team-high 18-game losing streak in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Brandon Ingram added 26 points for New Orleans, with Jose Alvarado scoring 16, Jonas Valanciunas racking up 15 points and 16 rebounds, Zion Williamson adding 15 points and Trey Murphy III tallying 14. Naji Marshall posted 11 points and a team-high seven assists.

Victor Wembanyama paced San Antonio with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Julian Champagnie added a season-high-tying 15 points while Cedi Osman had 14, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson contributed 13 apiece and Malaki Branham scored 11.

The Spurs led 8-7 before New Orleans took charge, rumbling to a 27-14 advantage when Ingram hit a 3-pointer and a jumper back-to-back, the latter with 2:31 remaining in the period. The Pelicans led 33-20 after the first 12 minutes of play.

New Orleans expanded its advantage to 20 points on Dyson Daniels' cutting layup with 8:11 left in the second quarter. Osman's finger-roll layup almost three minutes late pulled the Spurs to within 50-36. Osman and Wembanyama combined to score 13 of the half's final 16 points to turn a 20-point San Antonio deficit to just 61-51 at the break.

Ingram led all scorers with 16 points before halftime while McCollum added 15 for the Pelicans. Osman's 12 points paced San Antonio in the half while Wembanyama had 10.

The Spurs pulled to within seven points early in the third quarter, but that's when New Orleans reasserted itself.

A dunk by Williamson with 3:06 to play in the period advanced the Pelicans' advantage to 93-69. A 3-pointer by Alvarado with 1.1 seconds left made it 105-78 heading into the final period.

—Field Level Media

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