Zion’s 1st career triple-double leads Pelicans past Suns

PHOENIX (AP) — Zion Williamson had his first career triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns 124-116 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.

CJ McCollum added 19 points in the opener of a two-game set in Phoenix to help New Orleans match its longest winning streak of the season.

Phoenix climbed out of an 18-point hole in the first half and had a 91-88 lead after three quarters. But the Pelicans dominated most of the fourth and Williamson made two tough buckets in the paint down the stretch to seal the win.

New Orleans improved to 5-24 on the road this season. All five starters scored in double figures, including Trey Murphy III, who had 18 points and made five 3-pointers. Yves Missi added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The fading Suns have lost seven of their last eight. Devin Booker had 36 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Kevin Durant scored 28 points.

New Orleans scored the first 13 points of the second quarter to take a 48-30 lead, but the Suns rallied for a 62-61 advantage by halftime. Booker scored 17 points before the break.

Takeaways

Pelicans: New Orleans is playing better these days, especially with Williamson in the lineup. It’s a team that could play spoiler over the next few months.

Suns: Phoenix is running out of time to start playing better and make the playoffs. Durant and Booker are scoring boatloads of points most nights, but it’s not translating to good overall basketball. Starting guard Bradley Beal (calf) didn’t play.

Key moment

Karlo Matkovic hit a corner 3 with 3:24 left to put the Pelicans up 116-108. He finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Key stat

The Suns went cold in the fourth quarter. They shot 9 of 25 from the field (36%) and just 2 of 14 (14.3%) from 3-point range.

Up next

The teams play each other again on Friday in Phoenix.

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