----- Brandon Ingram finished with 17 points and nine assists and Trey Murphy III scored a team-high 24 points as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday night at Moda Center.
Trey Murphy III scored 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Brandon Ingram added 17 points and nine assists as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 93-84 Saturday night at Moda Center.
Both teams were short-handed heading into the game. New Orleans played without Zion Williamson and Portland was missing Malcolm Brogdon, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, and Duop Reath.
With the injuries, Ashton Hagans started at guard for Portland next to Matisse Thybulle and Dalano Banton was the first guard off the bench. Both players were acquired on Thursday. Banton was acquired from the Boston Celtics via trade and Hagans signed a 10-day contract.
Banton scored 12 points and Hagans added five points and four assists after getting three fouls in the first six-minutes of the game.
Jerami Grant led Portland (15-37) with 24 points and Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 17 rebounds.
New Orleans (31-22) led 47-40 at halftime and pushed their lead to double-digits at 56-44 early in the third quarter.
The Blazers responded with a 19-6 run to take a 63-62 lead. The Pelicans put the game away with a 16-7 run to open the fourth quarter.
With a number of new players on the floor for Portland, mistakes proved to be costly. The Blazers committed 18 turnovers leading to 26 points for the Pelicans.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers play the first of two against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's take- Great effort, energy, and defense from the short-handed Blazers. Both Banton and Hagans played well on short notice.