The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns for the second straight time at home on Monday (always AEDT), winning 129-124 in overtime, in a statement from Willie Green’s side.
Zion Williamson finished with a season-high 35 points and 8 rebounds after dominating Saturday’s matchup between the two teams and joining the MVP conversation, while CJ McCollum co-starred with 29 points and 7 assists. .
Dyson Daniels, meanwhile, put in a strong performance of his own in another start, scoring 11 points and eight assists in no turnovers in a career-best 36 minutes, again impressing on both ends of the floor.
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While Brandon Ingram (sprained toe) and Herb Jones (ankle) have been sidelined in the last few games, the Australian has made the most of his chances.
After earning praise in his last matchup against Devin Booker, Daniels received further praise on Monday for his playmaking and defensive assignments over Chris Paul.
With 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation after Nagy Marshall missed a free throw on the other side of the floor on the previous possession, the game went into overtime following a clutch pole pull-up jumper.
But the Suns, already without Booker (hamstring strain), lost both DeAndre Ayton and Paul from 2:52 onwards, with the latter remaining in overtime after joining the big man on a foul out. I was.
And New Orleans didn’t look like they were losing from that point on, as they scored six straight points, including two jumpers from McCollum, to extend their lead to 129-120 for the win.
The Pelicans have won 12 of their last 14 games, leading the Western Conference with an 18-8 record. This puts him just 2.5 games behind the 21-6 Boston Celtics, who lead the league.
Phoenix, on the other hand, dropped five games from their last six to slip to a 16-11 record.
Ayton’s 28 points led the Suns and added 12 rebounds, while Michal Bridges had 27 points and two steals.
Jock Rundale added eight points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes off the Suns’ bench and got an overtime run after Ayton fouled out.
