Jonas Valanciunas cranked out 29 points and 13 rebounds and teammate CJ McCollum had a big fourth quarter as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans held on to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 112-107 on Friday night in Charlotte, N.C.
Zion Williamson finished with 21 points, McCollum had 19 points, Trey Murphy III added 13 points off the bench and Herbert Jones posted 11 points for the Pelicans, who have matched their season-best streak with three wins in a row.
McCollum scored 11 points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, when he ended up with 13 total points.
The Hornets were stuck with their third consecutive loss despite Terry Rozier’s 30 points and Miles Bridges’ 26 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Miller and Nick Richards each had 16 points.
The Hornets scored 39 first-half points, then got back into the game by scoring 37 in the third quarter.
Charlotte was within 81-80 after two free throws by Nathan Mensah, who was making his NBA debut, with 10:22 remaining. McCollum scored the next five points as New Orleans was on the way to a 93-84 lead.
New Orleans held a 107-98 edge with less than 1:10 to play, then Bridges and Rozier made 3-pointers to close the gap with 26.1 seconds left. Jones went 3-for-4 on free throws to help the Pelicans seal the outcome.
Valanciunas shot 11-for-16 from the field, while McCollum supplied three of the Pelicans’ nine 3-point baskets.
Williamson, who grabbed 11 rebounds, was back in the lineup after a one-game absence with an ailing ankle.
The Pelicans led 50-39 at halftime despite shooting only 40.9 percent from the field. The Hornets were worse at 33.3, making just two of 12 launches from 3-point range.
Charlotte, which managed only three first-half points from reserves, had 12 points by the break from Richards, who has been filling in at center for injured Mark Williams. He shot 5-for-5 in the opening half, so the rest of the team checked in at 25 percent.
–Field Level Media