The Portland Trail Blazers got their new year off to a good start on Friday night, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 122-109.
Deni Avdija paced the Blazers with 34 points. Shaedon Sharpe added 23 points and
Caleb Love chipped in 22, including six three-pointers, off the bench.
The Blazers have played in New Orleans three times this season and are now 2-1. Zion Williamson did not play in either of the first two matchups, but was a force in this one. He led all scorers with 35 points. It wasn’t enough as the Pelicans struggled to score after a big first quarter.
The Blazers improved to 15-20 with the win, good for 10th place in the Western Conference. The Pelicans remain in last place at 8-28.
Player of Note
Avdija put up superstar numbers to lead the charge again. He finished with 34 points on 10-18 shooting, including 3-5 on three-pointers and 11-14 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out 11 assists. Avdija was in complete control, committing just two turnovers after averaging 6.3 per game over his previous four outings.
On the defensive end, Kris Murray stood out. With Jerami Grant injured, Coach Tiago Splitter has used both Sidy Cissoko and Murray in the starting lineup. Against the Pelicans, Murray got the starting nod and delivered a solid defensive performance with three steals and two blocks.
Stat of the Night
For the first time in quite a while, the stat of the night is turnovers and it’s actually a good thing. The Blazers turned the ball over just nine times, while the Pelicans committed 15. It’s only the second time in the past 22 games that the Blazers have won the turnover battle.
Three-point shooting was a major factor as well. The Blazers made 16-47 (34%) from behind the three-point arc, while the Pelicans converted just 8-30 (26.7%).
What We Noticed
The Blazers did well to weather an early storm in New Orleans.
The Pelicans had Williamson, but were without key contributors Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Derik Queen, and Saddiq Bey. Former All-Star Dejounte Murray has yet to play a minute this season. As the Blazers approach the halfway point of the 2025-2026 campaign, they need to win games like this if they are serious about making the play-in tournament and getting into the playoffs.
The Blazers were lucky to be down only eight points after the first quarter. Williamson and the Pelicans put pressure on the Portland defense, getting into the paint, where they made 10 of their 16 shot attempts and saddled each of Donovan Clingan, Avdija, and Robert Williams III with two fouls before the game was even six minutes old.
The Pelicans controlled the paint on the other end as well, recording six blocks in the first quarter on their way to 11 for the game.
New Orleans looked like the better team early, but the Blazers kept their composure and bounced back to win the second quarter 34-18 to take an 8-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Blazers started the second half on a 9-2 run to open up a 15-point lead. They would stretch their advantage to as many as 22 points. The Pelicans tried to mount a late run, but were never able to cut the deficit to single-digits in the fourth quarter, allowing the Blazers to cruise to a comfortable win.
Up Next
The Blazers finish up their three-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs at 5:00 PM Pacific on Saturday.
