Trey Murphy III came off the bench to score 28 points and Zion Williamson added 27 to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to their fourth consecutive victory, a 116-103 win over the host Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Murphy scored 20 points in the first half to help New Orleans build a 20-point lead that the Hawks could never overcome. He was 10-for-18 from the field for the game with six 3-pointers and seven rebounds. Murphy has scored 26-plus points in four of his past six games.
Williamson had only eight points at halftime but wound up with his 35th game of the season with 20-plus points. He shot 10-for-14 and added six rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
The win gave the Pelicans a split of the two-game season series with Atlanta, and a sweep of their three-game road trip.
Atlanta got 25 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic, who made seven 3-pointers, and 23 points and 11 assists from Dejounte Murray. Clint Capela finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for his 26th double-double of the season.
New Orleans’ CJ McCollum added 20 points.
The Pelicans pulled away and enjoyed a 20-point lead after a layup by Larry Nance Jr. made it 44-24 with 5:32 left in the first half. But Atlanta outscored New Orleans 13-5 — with Bogdanovic knocking down two 3-pointers — over the final 3:58 of the half to cut the Pelicans’ lead to 53-42 at the break.
New Orleans led by as many as 22 in the third quarter, but Atlanta was able to trim the lead to 80-65 when Saddiq Bey hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Bey hyperextended his left knee with 10:41 remaining in the fourth and had to leave the game. The Hawks were already without Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain), Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain) and leading scorer Trae Young (finger ligament surgery).
Playing short-handed, Atlanta was never able to mount a sustained rally in the final period.
Atlanta begins a five-game road trip on Wednesday in Portland. New Orleans returns home to start a three-game homestand on Wednesday against Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
