On Tuesday night, the New Orleans Pelicans set a franchise record for points with a 153-124 victory over the Utah Jazz. The Pelicans shot an impressive 57.1% from the field, including 23-for-46 from deep, while Zion Williamson had a career-high 11 assists. CJ McCollum went 9 of 13 from 3-point range and tied his season high with 33 points.
The Pelicans’ previous record for points in a game was 149 in a victory over the Sacramento Kings in October 2018. Notably, they also set a franchise record with 41 assists on 60 made field goals.
Pelicans coach Willie Green praised his team’s performance, saying, “It was just an incredible performance by the guys in that locker room, sharing the basketball, rebounding. CJ ignited the whole group. It’s extremely gratifying to see the team buy into what we’re trying to accomplish. It’s great for them to continue to trust that if the shots are open for us, we’re going to take them.”
The Pelicans started the game with the ball in Williamson’s hands as a point forward, and he responded by willingly distributing the ball. Williamson has played the point sparingly this season at the end of quarters, but not usually at the start of the game when he is teamed with Brandon Ingram. “The coaches and my teammates trust me to be ‘Point Zion’ throughout most of the game to get a feel for the game and where my teammates are going to be,” Williamson said.
Herb Jones had an impressive game with 22 points for the Pelicans, followed by Brandon Ingram with 18 points, and Jonas Valanciunas with 17. McCollum went 11 of 17 from the floor, and the Pelicans shot 57.1% from the field (60 of 105).
Utah, which lost its third consecutive game, was led by Collin Sexton with 22 points and seven assists and Simone Fontecchio with 18 points. Utah coach Will Hardy expressed disappointment in his team’s performance, saying, “The reality of tonight’s game, the reality of the last three games… is we just aren’t playing hard enough.”
The Pelicans used a 43-29 second quarter to build a 77-59 halftime lead, their highest-scoring first half of the season. With 19 assists in the first half — eight by Williamson — the Pelicans pushed the pace and shot 29 of 49 (59.2%), including 12 of 22 from long range. McCollum made all five of his 3-point attempts in his 17-point first half, and Jones was perfect on three long-range attempts from the right corner in his 15-point half.
