LOS ANGELES, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum combined for 51 points as the New Orleans Pelicans upset the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves 117-106 in the NBA on Wednesday.
Pelicans power forward Williamson led the scoring with 27 points while McCollum added 24 as New Orleans ground out an impressive victory on the road.
McCollum’s tally included four three-pointers while Brandon Ingram (19 points) and Herbert Jones (16) also chipped in with valuable contributions.
Jones’ 16 points included four three-pointers from five attempts. Anthony Edwards led the Minnesota scoring with 35 points.
Minnesota’s defeat came just two days after their New Year’s Day reverse to the New York Knicks and marked the first time this season the Wolves (24-9) have suffered consecutive losses.
The Pelicans’ fourth straight win meanwhile leaves them in fifth place in the Western Conference as they bid to return to the playoffs this year after missing out in 2022-2023.
“They’re a really good team, they’re the best team defensively, and sound offensively, so to come in here and get a win against a talented, well-coached team like Minnesota is huge for us,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said.
“It was a good wire-to-win for us.”
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers slid to a third straight loss, falling 110-96 to the Miami Heat.
LeBron James had a rare off-night, finishing with just 12 points after shooting six-of-18 from the field, leaving Anthony Davis to lead the Lakers with 29 points.
Miami however were always in front after taking the lead early in the first quarter, with a balanced offensive performance seeing eight Heat players make double figures.
The Lakers were left ruing an inability to convert from three-point range, with the team making just four of 30 attempts from beyond the arc.
In Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers won the latest instalment of their simmering rivalry with the Milwaukee Bucks 142-130 to complete back-to-back victories over the 2021 NBA champions.
– ‘Winning is fun’ –
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton led the scoring for the Pacers with 31 points on a night when seven Indiana players posted double-digit tallies for the home side, who trailed by two at half-time before taking control of the contest with a 47-point third quarter.
“Winning is fun, and we’re having fun doing it right now – we’ve got to continue competing at a high level,” Haliburton said. “If we keep getting good shots, good things will happen.”
Haliburton said defensive improvements had been the key to the Pacers’ game-changing third quarter display, which left Indiana leading by 16 points heading into the fourth quarter.
“We just had to lock in defensively – we’ve been scoring pretty well against those guys all year, so we had to figure out a way to get some stops, and we were able do that in the second half,” he said.
Recent encounters between the two sides have seen tempers boil over, and there was a flashpoint in the fourth quarter when Bennedict Mathurin drew a foul from Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo that triggered a scuffle between several players from both sides.
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee’s scorers with 26 points while Damian Lillard added 23 and Khris Middleton 19.
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin lamed his team’s turnover count – 13 in all – for letting the game slip away.
“We gave ourselves a chance but it’s hard when you turn the ball over,” Griffin said.
In Phoenix, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined for 63 points as the Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 131-122 defeat of the Suns. George finished with 33 points while Leonard added 30.
In Atlanta meanwhile, Jalen Johnson rattled in 28 points and Trae Young added 24 as the Hawks downed the in-form Oklahoma City Thunder 141-138.
Oklahoma City had arrived in Georgia on the back of five straight victories, a run of results which included an impressive home win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday as well as a win over the NBA champion Denver Nuggets last week.
But despite another virtuoso performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, the Thunder came up just short as Atlanta completed a wire-to-wire win.
