The New Orleans Pelicans went winless on their Eastern Conference road trip, falling to 0-3 after another tough road loss Monday night. The Pelicans fell to the Toronto Raptors 113-104, getting swept in the season series for the first time since 2019-20. New Orleans couldn’t make a basket from deep, shooting just 6-of-28 from beyond the arc. The Pelicans fell to 0-10 when they failed to make at least 10 three-pointers in a game. They struggled to find any rhythm offensively, despite a stellar performance from Zion Williamson.
Williamson led the way with 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting, seven rebounds, and three blocks. But Zion recorded just two assists, bringing his total to only four over the past two games. The Pelicans remain winless this season (0-8) when Zion hands out fewer than five assists.
CJ McCollum (22 points), Dejounte Murray (21 points), and Trey Murphy (14 points) combined to score 57 points on an inefficient 52 shot attempts, including just 4-of-18 on three-pointers. Rookie Yves Missi was held scoreless and didn’t take a shot in 22 minutes, becoming just the third player this season to do so (DeAndre Jordan, Mason Plumlee).
Head coach Willie Green’s frustration boiled over in the fourth quarter after a no-call on a Zion drive. Green earned back-to-back technicals and was ejected with 7:22 left, cutting short New Orleans’ comeback attempt after they had trimmed a 17-point deficit to just eight.
Toronto dominated the bench battle, outscoring New Orleans 37-16, and the glass as Jakob Poeltl (21 points, 14 rebounds) and Scottie Barnes (21 points, 11 boards) led the Raptors to their fourth consecutive win.
New Orleans, stuck in its fifth losing streak of at least three games this season, continues to sink to deeper depths than previously imagined. They are now 4-19 on the road after leading the NBA in road victories (28) a season ago.
The Pelicans return to the Smoothie King Center for matchups against Dallas and Boston this week, with trade rumors swirling around Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum as the deadline looms.
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