McCollum ties career high with 50 as Pels end skid
CJ McCollum tied a career-high with 50 points and the host New Orleans Pelicans ended an 11-game losing streak by defeating the Washington Wizards 132-120 on Friday night.
McCollum made 18 of 27 shots, including 10 3-pointers on 16 attempts, as the Pelicans won for only the second time in 22 games. Trey Murphy III added 17 points, Brandon Boston scored 13 off the bench, and Yves Missi had 12 points and 11 rebounds as six Pelicans scored in double figures.
The Pelicans have the NBA’s worst record at 6-29 but now share with the Washington Wizards (6-26) the dubious distinction of having the fewest victories in the league.
McCollum had his toe on the 3-point line when he hit a 21-foot jumper to give New Orleans a 128-111 lead. It was initially ruled a 3, which would have given him a career high in points and tied his franchise high of 11 made 3s. But it was reduced to a 2-point shot on video review.
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McCollum played just 30 minutes, 40 seconds. In his other previous 50-point game, he played only 29:16, according to ESPN Research. By doing so, he joins Klay Thompson as the only players to record multiple career 50-point games while playing fewer than 31 minutes since 1955-56.
“CJ was incredible tonight,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said, according to NBA.com. “Some of the shots he was hitting, he hit tough ones, he hit easy ones. We just wanted to continue getting the ball to him.”
New Orleans was playing at home for the first time since a deadly New Year’s Day attack in the French Quarter, and a moment of silence was held before tipoff.
McCollum scored eight points as New Orleans began the third quarter with a 17-4 run that gave it a 79-72 lead.
Carlton Carrington answered with a field goal for the Wizards, but McCollum scored seven points and the Pelicans opened their biggest lead of the quarter at 92-83 with 4:52 to go. Jordan Poole scored four points to start a 14-5 run by Washington that tied the score at 97 going into the fourth quarter.
Jordan Hawkins made a 3-pointer to tie the score at 101 and start a 10-0 run that gave New Orleans a 108-101 lead. Justin Champagnie’s field goal ended the run, but the Pelicans scored the next 10 points to take a 15-point lead.
The Pelicans scored the first six points of the game and McCollum had eight in the first 3:33 as New Orleans took a 13-4 lead. Champagnie scored five points during a 12-2 run that pushed the Wizards into a 16-15 lead.
The lead changed hands four more times before Brogdon and Jonas Valanciunas scored four each to help Washington take a 37-29 lead into the second quarter.
McCollum made two 3-pointers and Boston and Jose Alvarado made one each to help New Orleans take a 43-42 lead. That was the first of 16 lead changes in the second quarter, and the score was tied four times before the Wizards scored the final seven points to take a 68-62 halftime lead.
Poole scored 26 points for the Wizards but was affected by a hard fall under the basket with 4:38 left in the third quarter. He scored only five points after the fall, which sent him to the locker room briefly for treatment of lower back soreness.
Rookie center Alexandre Sarr scored 19 for Washington.
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
