Pelicans break away in second half as Pistons drop 11th straight

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points and the host New Orleans Pelicans overcame a slow start to hand the Detroit Pistons their 11th consecutive defeat Friday night, 109-93.

The Pelicans trailed by as many as 15 points before pulling within one point at halftime as Ingram had 24 first-half points. New Orleans began the second half with a 19-3 run.

Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 11 rebounds, Josh Hart had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14 and Herbert Jones Jr. 10 for the Pelicans.

Trey Lyles scored 18, Cade Cunningham added 16 and Hamidou Diallo, Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey each had 11 each for the Pistons, who have won just four games and last won Nov. 17.

The Pelicans scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to take a 64-55 lead.

Cunningham ended the Pistons’ drought, but New Orleans scored the next nine points to take a 73-58 lead.

The Pelicans built the lead to 18 points before Diallo’s basket with 2.1 seconds left pulled Detroit within 83-67 at the end of the third quarter.

New Orleans scored the first six points of the fourth quarter before Diallo made a layup.

Devonte’ Graham and Alexander-Walker made consecutive 3-pointers as the Pelicans took command with a 99-72 lead.

Bey accounted for three of the five 3-pointers the Pistons made during a four-minute stretch of the first quarter as they took a nine-point lead.

Ingram scored 13 points as the Pelicans trimmed the deficit to 32-25 at the end of the period.

Lyles scored the first seven points of the second quarter as Detroit put together a 9-1 run.

Valanciunas had eight points as New Orleans pulled within 51-44.

After a Grant tip-in, Ingram had eight points during a 10-0 run that gave the Pelicans a one-point lead.

Isaiah Stewart’s basket gave the Pistons a 55-54 halftime lead, their last lead of the game.

–Field Level Media

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Author: Sportsnaut

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