Field Level Media
Jan 8, 2020
Brandon Ingram and rookie Jaxson Hayes each had a double-double as the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Chicago Bulls 123-108 on Wednesday night.
Ingram had 29 points and 11 assists, falling two rebounds short of his first career triple-double, and Hayes had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double. Ingram had 16 points as the Pelicans took control by outscoring the Bulls 44-27 in the third quarter.
New Orleans, playing its second straight game without second-leading scorer Jrue Holiday (elbow), won for the sixth time in eight games.
JJ Redick added 24 points, Josh Hart had 13, Derrick Favors had 12 and rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Lonzo Ball scored 11 each.
Zach LaVine scored 32, Thaddeus Young had 18, Kris Dunn 15, Lauri Markkanen 14 and Coby White 10 to lead the Bulls, who lost their fifth straight and for the sixth time in seven games.
The Bulls scored the first five points of the third quarter to break from a 48-all halftime tie.
Ingram scored nine points to lead a Pelicans run that gave them a 65-59 lead.
Chicago closed within a point, but Ingram was fouled on a 3-pointer -- for the second time in the quarter -- and made all three free throws to help New Orleans increase the lead to 74-66.
LaVine scored seven straight Bulls points, but they couldn't keep up, as his teammates went scoreless for nearly four minutes.
Hayes had six points in the final four minutes as the Pelicans extended their lead to 92-75 at the end of the third quarter.
Alexander-Walker scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 20 before the Bulls went on an 11-3 run to get within 12.
They got as close as nine before Ingram, Hart and Redick each made a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 115-98 with 3:40 left.
The Bulls shot 33.3 percent (9 of 27) in the first quarter, while the Pelicans committed seven turnovers but still led 23-21 at the end of the period.
Chicago improved its shooting to 52.4 percent (11 of 21) in the second quarter, the Pelicans committed just four turnovers in the period and the score was tied at 48 at halftime.
--Field Level Media