Zion Williamson scored a team-high 29 points on Monday to help lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a rare 143-130 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Saddiq Bey totaled 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Trey Murphy III also chipped in 20 points for the Pelicans, who snapped a nine-game losing streak. Jose Alvarado had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Jeremiah Fears scored 15 points. Yves Missi finished with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double and Bryce McGowens scored 11. Micah Peavy poured in 10 points for New Orleans, which posted its first win since head coach Willie Green was fired and interim James Borrego took over on Nov. 15.
Ayo Dosunmu led Chicago with 28 points, followed by Coby White’s 24 and Josh Giddey’s 21. Jalen Smith scored 13 points, Jevon Carter added 11 and Tre Jones tallied 10 points and 11 assists for the Bulls, who dropped their seventh game in 10 tries. Matas Buzelis scored 10 points in the loss.
After trailing by 16 at halftime, Chicago sliced its deficit in half on Dosunmu’s layup at the 7:52 mark of the third quarter.
New Orleans then pushed the lead back to 18 after Fears’ layup and 3-pointer bookended a 9-0 run to give the Pelicans a 96-78 lead.
Julian Phillips’ running 3-pointer pulled the Bulls within 11 with 9:25 left, before Williamson’s consecutive baskets gave New Orleans a 121-106 lead. The Pelicans went ahead by 18 on Alvarado’s layup with 4:40 remaining.
After Chicago mounted another run, Bey’s layup gave New Orleans a 10-point lead with 1:14 left to seal the win.
With 1:57 remaining in the first quarter, Carter’s 3-pointer cut the Bulls’ deficit to one, before Alvarado connected on a pair of triples to help New Orleans take a 37-30 lead into the second.
From there, the Pelicans’ lead ballooned to 20 thanks to a 15-2 run to begin the second quarter, as New Orleans went ahead 52-32 on McGowens’ layup at the 7:10 mark.
After trailing by as many as 22, Chicago trimmed the margin to eight on Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:57 left in the first half. New Orleans answered the Bulls’ spurt with an 11-3 run to close out the half, including Williamson’s nine points in the final 2:25. The Pelicans led 74-58 at the break.
