After an embarrasing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the In-Season Tournament, the New Orleans Pelicans have now strung together two straight wins.
The Pelicans started their battle against the Washington Wizards off rather shaky, but they hoisted a double-digit lead at halftime. In the end, they won 142-122 in dominating fashion, and they did this all without Zion Williamson being active. Even though there are questions about his future in New Orleans, that is impressive.
The Pelicans won the game in the box score
Okay, not literally. The Pelicans did, however, outrebound the Wizards 46-33. They also only turned the ball over nine times to the Wizards' 15 turnovers. All-in-all, the Pelicans shot 96 shots to the Wizards 82 shots, allowing them to win the game despite shooting very similar percentages.
Again, the Pelicans really began to control the game just before halftime and took care of the bsuiness in the second half to eventually route the 3-20 Wizards. Now 14-11, the Pelicans are in a three-way tie for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, despite each of the teams having played a different amount of games.
The Pelicans were able to take care of business without Zion Williamson, who is labeled as day-to-day after suffering his injury on Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.