NBA: Pelicans demolish Hornets as Terry Rozier exits the game early with a foot injury

Brandon Ingram had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple-double of his seven-year NBA career, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a 115-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night. .

Ingram collected three straight rebounds late in the third quarter to reach double figures in that category. His 20-foot jumper and free throw from him put New Orleans up 88-79 with 36 seconds remaining in the third. The Pelicans’ 11-5 run early in the fourth quarter ended the game.

“I just wanted to set the tone,” said Ingram, who did exactly that, scoring 17 points and dishing out six assists in the first quarter. ‘These games are important for us to be in the postseason. I’m just thinking that every possession has offense and defense, and there had to be a sense of urgency.’

Pelicans coach Willie Green said Ingram makes the game look so easy that he didn’t realize he was close to the first triple-double of his career.

He said what makes the achievement even more special was Ingram’s ability to battle through 37 lost games with a sore toe and a concussion.

“I think it speaks to his maturity through this process,” Green said. ‘He understands that he’s going to have the ball in his hands at times. He’s doing a great job of setting the tone, which is just (being a) 5 point, passing his teammates and opening up guys. The rebound from him has been huge for us. He is doing it, and we all know that he can score at any time.

“So on all three levels tonight, he was fantastic.”

Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 19 rebounds for his 38th double-double of the season to help the Pelicans win their third straight game. CJ McCollum added 20 points, Trey Murphy 19 and Naji Marshall had 16 off the bench.

PJ Washington scored 18 points, including 16 in the first half for Charlotte. Svi Mykhailiuk had 15 points and Gordon Hayward 12 points.

The Hornets stayed close by shooting 53 percent from the floor (24-of-45) before halftime. But Kelly Oubre came out in the second quarter with a right shoulder strain after scoring 8 points in 12 minutes. Charlotte guard Terry Rozier left with a sore right foot after scoring 5 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Hornets were tired and only had seven healthy players.

“The hard part was it’s hard not to play without Gordon, and he can’t play every minute,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “That hurt us a little bit and we got disorganized, and frankly we made some mistakes.”

Ingram’s first-quarter barrage helped New Orleans open up a 37-24 lead, but the Hornets used a 33-25 second quarter to cut the halftime deficit to 62-57. Ingram had 19 points and nine assists in the first half.

The Pelicans held the Hornets to 39 points in the second half.

Ingram said he was grateful that his revived game came at the perfect time for the Pelicans, who are now embarking on a critical four-game journey.

“I’m grateful to be here playing with my teammates, having the opportunity to be on the court every day now in practice,” Ingram said. I don’t take it for granted. Going through those 30 games without being on the court, you try to find ways to stay with the team, you try to find ways to stay positive. And this is not always easy. So being on the court now, I’m super excited and happy.

Ingram scores and fouls the shot when Hornets guard Dennis Smith Jr. and Nick Richards

MAGIC 111, KNICKS 106

Paolo Banchero scored 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:26 to play and two free throws in the final seconds, to help the Orlando Magic beat the New York Knicks 111-106 on Thursday night.

Cole Anthony added 18 points for Orlando and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds. Franz Wagner scored 16 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley each scored 25 points for the Knicks, who lost for the third straight time. Julius Randle finished with 23 points and nine rebounds.

With Jalen Brunson out with injury and Randle on the bench, the Knicks went nearly 5 1/2 minutes scoreless in the second quarter and fell behind by 19 points.

Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero tries to dunk over New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein

KNIGHTS 116, NETS 114

Isaac Okoro hit a corner 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining and finished with 11 points as Cleveland sent Brooklyn to its fifth straight loss.

Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Jarrett Allen finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds against his former team. Cleveland won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Mikal Bridges scored 32 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 25 points and 12 assists and Joe Harris hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points as the Nets lost their fifth straight game.

Cleveland trailed 112-104 with 2:13 remaining before closing out the game on a 12-2 run. Trailing by one, Mitchell missed the second free throw that would have tied the game. But the ball bounced to Okoro in the corner, who hit the 3-pointer to give Cleveland the lead. A shot from half court by Bridges at the buzzer fell just short.

Cavs Cavaliers Isaac Okoro celebrates with teammates Cedi Osman and Donovan Mitchell

CLIPPERS 127, THUNDER 105

The Los Angeles Clippers had a great performance in the victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in large part thanks to Kawhi Leonard’s 32 points. Leonard shot a very efficient 13-15 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line.

Russell Westbrook also put together a big night and scored 24 points to make up for an injured Paul George.

Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder by scoring 30 points.

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard goes to the basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder