Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy lead Pelicans past Chicago Bulls | Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans ended the first half of the season the same way they started the season: with a win over the Chicago Bulls.

The Pelicans reached the midway point of the season on Tuesday night with a 119-113 victory over the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago.

It was the second win of the season against the Bulls after winning 123-111 in the season opener in October.

This time the Pelicans had Zion Williamson.

He missed the first game of the year with an illness, but more than made his presence felt in the rematch.

Williamson finished with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Two of his assists came during a decisive 8-0 run in the fourth quarter, when he found Jose Alvarado, who buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pels a 98-90 lead.

“He’s unbelievable,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “When he touches the floor, everything gets better. You can feel his energy, his gravity.”

Williamson was two assists shy of his career high of 11.

“I trust my shooters,” Williamson said. “I was able to find them a lot tonight and they knocked down shots.”

It also helps when Trey Murphy plays the way he plays.

Murphy finished with 32 points, despite going just 2 of 13 on 3-pointers. He made all 12 of his free throws, extending his streak to 43 straight. He broke the franchise record for consecutive free throws (42), previously held by Ryan Anderson.

“We trend, we play together,” Murphy said. “Everybody contributed. It was a big team win.”

For the Pelicans (9-32), it was their second game with the lineup of Williamson, Murphy, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray and Yves Missi. That lineup took the Boston Celtics to task on Sunday and didn’t lose until McCollum missed what would have been a game-winner at the buzzer.

This time they were able to close the deal, pulling away midway through the fourth quarter and then holding on down the stretch. Alvarado made four 3-pointers in the final quarter. Murray finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

“The healthier we get, the more continuity we have as a group,” Green said. “We can constantly have the same guys playing together. We haven’t had that for a large part of the season. It helps the offense get into a rhythm.”

The Pelicans weren’t able to get into much of a rhythm in the first half. They made just 4 of their 24 3-pointers in the first half and trailed 59-53 at halftime. The Bulls, meanwhile, knocked down 8 of their 20 3s in the first half. They did so without much help from Zach Lavine, who entered the game having scored at least 30 points in his last six games.

Lavine didn’t score his first basket until his dunk with 1:14 left in the second quarter. But after scoring just two points in the first half, he got going in the second half and finished with 25.

“When he plays with this kind of confidence, it makes their team dangerous,” Green said of Lavine.

However, the Pelicans are just as dangerous with Williamson, who played just over 23 minutes.

“When he’s out there, he impacts the game everywhere,” Alvarado said.

The Pelicans, 2-1 on the road trip, host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in the second night of a back-to-back.

“The gravity that Zion brings while he’s on the floor as such a willing passer, all of our guys are able to get into an easy rhythm shot,” Green said before the game. “He makes the game easier.”