The New Orleans Pelicans have put an end to their nine-game losing streak with an exciting 128-107 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. The Pelicans improve to 9-31.
It wasn't a close game, but remained exciting because of the performances that led to the win. Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Derik Queen all had notable nights.
Queen had his second triple-double of the season in his return home to the DMV area. He had 14 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists with two blocks. This was a statement game for the rookie, who has had an up-and-down couple of weeks.
This is the kind of game that excites the fan base amidst this disappointing season. He is looking better at being an actual center with the increased effort on the boards as of late.
Murphy returned to the lineup after missing his second game of the month to back issues, but it didn't look to be bothering him at all as he dropped 35 points tonight after scoring 42 in his last game.
The forward has been shooting the lights out as of late. He shot 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. There has been an concerted effort from him to bring the team's shooting up and it is sort of working. They matched the Wizards from beyond the arc tonight on one less shot.
Murphy has clearly taken a step up this season, and the team is fully behind him with no trade expected to come this year.
Williamson had a great night as well, simply because Washington had no answer to his game. He finished with 31 points on 12-of-14 from the field with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The best defense against him was just sending him to the free throw line, because he was just 7-of-13 from the charity stripe.
New Orleans as a whole just had a solid night. Jeremiah Fears wasn't even one of the notables and he had 21 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals.
This was a much-needed win for the confidence of this team. Hopefully it will lead to more wins with some games they can have a chance in coming up. They return to the court against the Orlando Magic on Sunday for a 2 pm CT afternoon tip.