The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Hawks 116-107 at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. This was the final contest of a grueling five-game west road trip for Atlanta, which ended at a 2-3 record. New Orleans is getting healthier, and with Brandon Ingram back in the lineup, they got their third straight win.
Ingram scored the first two buckets and led the Pelicans fast out of the gates with an 11-2 run. Dejounte Murray connected on the Hawks’ first field goal with 8:08 left in the first frame. After a rough offensive start, Atlanta built an 8-0 run with Trae Young dishing out dimes everywhere on the court. The Hawks converted 11 of their following 13 field goals to take their first lead at 27-28. Bogdan Bogdanovic came out firing off the bench, nailing back-to-back threes to give the Hawks a 35-33 lead at the end of the first quarter. Young superbly set up his teammates, racking up seven assists to add to the Hawks’ 11 with zero turnovers.
The game remained tight-knit throughout the second quarter, as both teams kept the turnovers low. Neither the Pelicans nor the Hawks stretched their leads out past four points in the entire frame. Ingram continued to drive into the paint and hunt for mid-range buckets, while Young reached 10 assists with a minute remaining in the first half. Atlanta entered halftime down 59-62 with 16 assists on 22 field goals. Young had 11 assists with just one turnover, Murray added 11 points and Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 13 points. Ingram totaled 16 and C.J. McCollum had 13 entering halftime.
The second half started with Atlanta committing three fouls in under a minute. New Orleans took advantage of the situation, driving into the paint. They got out to a 71-63 lead, and the Hawks knew the game was in danger of falling away. Atlanta started to play at a much faster pace but with that came careless turnovers. The Hawks committed five turnovers in the third quarter, allowing the Pelicans to generate easy fastbreak points. New Orleans’ defensive ace, Herb Jones, disrupted the Hawks’ passing lanes, leading to a 9-0 Pelicans run. Down the stretch of the third frame, Atlanta turned the ball over four times in six possessions, as the Pelicans took a 91-81 lead into the final quarter.
Just as the game began to slip away, Bogdanovic lit up the Pelicans for a 7-0 individual run. Bogdanovic was the only Hawk to make a field goal until Onyeka Okongwu’s second-chance bucket with 7:14 left in the fourth. As this cut the Pelicans’ lead to 92-100, the Hawks looked poised to make a comeback. However, New Orleans had other plans; they went on an 8-0 run, fueled by Ingram and McCollum, to balloon the lead to 108-92. Atlanta made one final push when Young drained a miraculous three to cut the deficit to six with 37 seconds left, but it was ultimately too late.
It was a rough night for De’Andre Hunter after playing well the past few games, as he shot 0-9 from the field. Young finished with 16 points and 16 assists but shot an inefficient 4-14. Murray, who was originally questionable to play with a migraine, totaled 19 points, seven assists and five boards. Bogdanovic led Atlanta in scoring with 22, including 5-9 from beyond the arc. John Collins added 15 points on 6-9 shooting, while Clint Capela had 13 points and eight rebounds.
For New Orleans, Ingram dropped 30 points and eight assists on 11-18 shooting. McCollum had 21 points, seven assists and six boards, including a miraculous double-clutch three with the shot clock winding down to deflate Atlanta’s comeback hopes. Jonas Valanciunas put up a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double, and Trey Murphy connected on four triple’s with his 16 points.
Atlanta will be happy to return home after 11 straight days on the road. The Phoenix Suns come to State Farm Arena on Thursday night, as they look for revenge for the 32-point home loss at the hands of the Hawks on February 1.
