NEW ORLEANS -- — Zion Williamson highlighted a 24-point, 14-rebound performance with an array of thunderous dunks during a dominant fourth-quarter stint, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night to open a two-game set.

The teams will meet again in New Orleans on Monday night.

CJ McCollum made his first five 3-pointers on his way to 26 points, and the Pelicans got 19 points each from Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III en route to their third straight victory and fourth in five games.

Keyonte George scored 26 points for Utah, and Collin Sexton had 24. The Jazz (10-30) have lost five of six and have the fewest victories in the Western Conference, one behind the Pelicans (11-32).

New Orleans led b 26 when Daniel Theis' 3-pointer made it 50-24 early in the second quarter. But Utah outscored New Orleans 28-11 during the rest of period to make it 61-52 at halftime before the Pelicans pulled away again for good in the second half.

Takeaways

Jazz: Foward Lauri Markkanen missed his third straight game because of lower back spasms, adding to an lengthy injury list that also includes Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis) and John Collins (left hip). That made it tough for Utah to stay with a Pelicans squad that is getting healthier and playing better.

Pelicans: Rookie center Yves Missi sat out with a non-COVID illness. Theis started for him and had his best game this season, scoring 18 points — including a pair of 3s — and grabbing eight rebounds. Reserve rookie center Karlo Matkovic saw his first action in five games and blocked two shots.

Key moment

Williamson scored nine points in the first 3:48 of the fourth quarter, highlighted by his explosive driving dunk over center Drew Eubanks and his soaring alley-oop jam of Murphy's lob, giving New Orleans a 111-90 lead.

Key stat

New Orleans made a season-high 22 3-pointers and finished 22 of 50 (44%) from deep.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Drew Eubanks vs. Daniel Theis (Keyonte George gains possession)	0	0
11:48	Drew Eubanks bad pass (Trey Murphy III steals)	0	0
11:30	Zion Williamson misses driving layup	0	0
11:28	Drew Eubanks defensive rebound	0	0
11:19	Svi Mykhailiuk makes 28-foot three point jumper (Collin Sexton assists)	0	3
11:02	Trey Murphy III misses driving floating jump shot	0	3
10:59	Collin Sexton defensive rebound	0	3
10:56	Svi Mykhailiuk misses 30-foot three point shot	0	3
10:53	CJ McCollum defensive rebound	0	3
10:41	Zion Williamson misses layup	0	3
10:39	Zion Williamson offensive rebound	0	3
10:39	Svi Mykhailiuk blocks Zion Williamson's two point shot	0	3
10:38	Zion Williamson offensive rebound	0	3
10:37	Zion Williamson misses two point shot	0	3
10:36	Zion Williamson offensive rebound	0	3
10:26	CJ McCollum makes 24-foot three pointer (Dejounte Murray assists)	3	3
10:14	Svi Mykhailiuk steps out of bounds turnover	3	3
10:01	Dejounte Murray misses 15-foot pullup jump shot	3	3
9:59	Daniel Theis offensive rebound	3	3
9:59	Daniel Theis misses 3-foot tip shot	3	3
9:57	Zion Williamson offensive rebound	3	3
9:54	CJ McCollum makes 29-foot three point jumper (Zion Williamson assists)	6	3
9:33	Keyonte George makes 25-foot three pointer (Drew Eubanks assists)	6	6
9:16	Cody Williams shooting foul	6	6
9:16	Daniel Theis makes free throw 1 of 2	7	6
9:16	Daniel Theis makes free throw 2 of 2	8	6
8:57	Keyonte George misses 18-foot step back jumpshot	8	6
8:55	Zion Williamson defensive rebound	8	6
8:50	Cody Williams shooting foul	8	6
8:50	Dejounte Murray makes free throw 1 of 2	9	6
8:50	Dejounte Murray makes free throw 2 of 2	10	6
8:32	Zion Williamson personal foul	10	6
8:26	Keyonte George misses driving layup	10	6
8:24	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	10	6
8:18	Zion Williamson makes two point shot (Trey Murphy III assists)	12	6
8:03	Zion Williamson shooting foul	12	6
8:03	Drew Eubanks makes free throw 1 of 2	12	7
8:03	Javonte Green enters the game for Zion Williamson	12	7
8:03	Drew Eubanks makes free throw 2 of 2	12	8
7:52	CJ McCollum makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot (Daniel Theis assists)	15	8
7:43	CJ McCollum personal foul	15	8
7:43	Jazz Full timeout	15	8
7:43	(07:43) [Jazz] COACH'S CHALLENGE (CALL OVERTURNED) [Jazz] retain their timeout	15	8
7:43	Kyle Filipowski enters the game for Drew Eubanks	15	8
7:32	Svi Mykhailiuk misses 14-foot pullup jump shot	15	8
7:29	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	15	8
7:21	Trey Murphy III makes 23-foot three point jumper (Dejounte Murray assists)	18	8
7:00	Collin Sexton misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	18	8
6:57	Keyonte George offensive rebound	18	8
6:54	Collin Sexton misses 26-foot three point jumper	18	8
6:51	Daniel Theis defensive rebound	18	8
6:44	CJ McCollum makes 27-foot three point shot (Dejounte Murray assists)	21	8
6:32	Svi Mykhailiuk bad pass (Dejounte Murray steals)	21	8
6:28	Collin Sexton shooting foul	21	8
6:28	Trey Murphy III makes free throw 1 of 2	22	8
6:28	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl enters the game for Daniel Theis	22	8
6:28	Brice Sensabaugh enters the game for Collin Sexton	22	8
6:28	Isaiah Collier enters the game for Keyonte George	22	8
6:28	Trey Murphy III misses free throw 2 of 2	22	8
6:27	Svi Mykhailiuk defensive rebound	22	8
6:17	Brice Sensabaugh misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	22	8
6:15	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	22	8
6:09	Svi Mykhailiuk personal foul	22	8
6:09	Elijah Harkless enters the game for Svi Mykhailiuk	22	8
6:01	CJ McCollum makes 25-foot three pointer (Trey Murphy III assists)	25	8
5:41	Brice Sensabaugh misses 29-foot three point pullup jump shot	25	8
5:39	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl defensive rebound	25	8
5:27	CJ McCollum misses 12-foot pullup jump shot	25	8
5:25	Kyle Filipowski defensive rebound	25	8
5:10	Kyle Filipowski traveling	25	8
5:00	CJ McCollum misses 27-foot three point jumper	25	8
4:58	Isaiah Collier defensive rebound	25	8
4:53	Brice Sensabaugh bad pass (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl steals)	25	8
4:47	Trey Murphy III makes 5-foot dunk (CJ McCollum assists)	27	8
4:33	Brice Sensabaugh out of bounds lost ball turnover	27	8
4:23	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl makes 11-foot jumper (CJ McCollum assists)	29	8
4:07	Cody Williams misses 22-foot three point jumper	29	8
4:04	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	29	8
3:58	CJ McCollum misses 29-foot three point shot	29	8
3:56	Brice Sensabaugh defensive rebound	29	8
3:42	Jordan Hawkins enters the game for Trey Murphy III	29	8
3:42	Collin Sexton enters the game for Cody Williams	29	8
3:36	Brice Sensabaugh makes 25-foot three pointer (Kyle Filipowski assists)	29	11
3:26	Dejounte Murray misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	29	11
3:24	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl offensive rebound	29	11
3:22	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl makes two point shot	31	11
3:11	Collin Sexton makes driving layup	31	13
2:54	Dejounte Murray makes 24-foot three point jumper (CJ McCollum assists)	34	13
2:43	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl shooting foul	34	13
2:43	Pelicans Full timeout	34	13
2:43	Jose Alvarado enters the game for Dejounte Murray	34	13
2:43	Oscar Tshiebwe enters the game for Kyle Filipowski	34	13
2:43	Isaiah Collier misses free throw 1 of 2	34	13
2:43	Jazz offensive team rebound	34	13
2:43	Isaiah Collier makes free throw 2 of 2	34	14
2:30	Jordan Hawkins lost ball turnover (Elijah Harkless steals)	34	14
2:24	Brice Sensabaugh makes 5-foot two point shot	34	16
2:06	Jose Alvarado misses 27-foot three point jumper	34	16
2:02	Brice Sensabaugh defensive rebound	34	16
1:56	Zion Williamson enters the game for CJ McCollum	34	16
1:55	Javonte Green blocks Oscar Tshiebwe 's 4-foot layup	34	16
1:54	Jazz offensive team rebound	34	16
1:46	Collin Sexton makes 8-foot pullup jump shot	34	18
1:28	Zion Williamson makes 4-foot layup (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl assists)	36	18
1:11	Jose Alvarado personal foul	36	18
1:11	Collin Sexton makes free throw 1 of 2	36	19
1:11	Collin Sexton makes free throw 2 of 2	36	20
57.0	Jordan Hawkins misses driving floating jump shot	36	20
55.1	Jordan Hawkins offensive rebound	36	20
50.2	Jordan Hawkins makes 28-foot three point jumper (Javonte Green assists)	39	20
34.1	Zion Williamson blocks Brice Sensabaugh 's 23-foot three point jumper	39	20
32.1	Jazz offensive team rebound	39	20
27.1	Isaiah Collier misses 22-foot three point jumper	39	20
26.1	Jazz offensive team rebound	39	20
26.1	shot clock turnover	39	20
7.1	Jordan Hawkins makes 27-foot three point jumper (Zion Williamson assists)	42	20
2.1	Zion Williamson shooting foul	42	20
2.1	Collin Sexton makes free throw 1 of 2	42	21
2.1	Trey Murphy III enters the game for Zion Williamson	42	21
2.1	Collin Sexton makes free throw 2 of 2	42	22
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	42	22

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Smoothie King Center

New Orleans, LA

Date & Time

1:00 AM, January 18, 2025

Coverage

NBA League Pass, GCSEN, KJZZ-TV

Attendance

18,321

Referees

Derek Richardson, Marc Davis, Evan Scott

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Zion Williamson has 24 points and 14 rebounds to power the Pelicans past the Jazz, 136-123

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