Brandon Ingram's 28 Leads Pelicans Past Suns in Lonzo Ball's Return from Injury
The New Orleans Pelicans continued their hot streak by beating the host Phoenix Suns 124-121 on Thursday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Brandon Ingram, JJ Redick, Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore combined for 96 of New Orleans' points.
Ingram scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including 12 in the last seven minutes:
Redick posted 14 of his 26 in the first and started the game 5-of-5 en route to a 10-of-14 shooting night:
Holiday added 23 on 10-of-19 shooting, and Moore dropped 19 on 8-of-12 from the field.
The Pels led wire-to-wire in the fourth quarter but saw their edge cut to 117-115 with 2:22 left after a Tyler Johnson layup. However, Ingram responded with seven straight points to give New Orleans a 124-115 advantage.
Undeterred, the Suns valiantly fought back to cut the Pels' lead to 124-121 with 2.4 seconds left.
Holiday then missed two free throws on the other end, but Phoenix had just two-tenths of a second left following a rebound and a timeout. At that juncture, the Suns could not get a shot off.
Phoenix was without Ricky Rubio (back injury) and Aron Baynes (right hip contusion).
Derrick Favors (back), Josh Hart (knee) and Jahlil Okafor (ankle) were sidelined for New Orleans, but the Pels had Lonzo Ball, who played 19 minutes in his return from a groin injury. The point guard had eight points and five assists off the bench.
The 6-9 Pelicans have won three straight. The 7-7 Suns have lost three consecutive games.
Notable Performances
Suns F Kelly Oubre Jr.: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Suns G Devin Booker: 19 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
Suns F Frank Kaminsky: 14 points, 5 rebounds
Pelicans F Brandon Ingram: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
Pelicans G JJ Redick: 26 points, 5 rebounds
Pelicans G Jrue Holiday: 23 points, 9 assists, 3 steals
JJ Redick Refuses To Let Pels Lose
The Bird Writes, SB Nation's Pelicans blog, put Redick's performance best on Thursday:
Redick looked like he was splashing threes at Duke in 2006 as he carved up the Suns defense en route to the Pels' third straight win.
He got it going early, knocking down his first five shots for 14 first-quarter points.
That included two three-point attempts while fouled, including this one for an early 17-10 lead:
Redick missed the free throw but earned his second four-point attempt on the very next possession following a 31-foot three-pointer. He nailed the free throw this time, prompting Duane Rankin of AZCentral.com to say the following:
Of course, Redick followed that up with another three on the next possession:
The shooting guard wasn't quite as hot in the second half. But he still made it rain, as evidenced by this triple:
Brandon Ingram finished what Redick started, thanks in part to his personal 7-0 run in the fourth quarter. But the Pels wouldn't have been in position to win sans the veteran shooting guard.
New Orleans has now won three straight following a 3-9 start. A litany of injuries is the root cause for the team's slow beginning, but Redick looks determined to erase the past following his dominant Thursday performance.
Once all the Pels are back healthy, don't be surprised if New Orleans makes a strong run for a top-eight spot in the Western Conference.
What's Next?
The Pelicans will visit the Utah Jazz on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET in Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Phoenix Suns will head north to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Target Center.
