Pelicans’ streak ends at 4 with loss to Memphis Grizzlies | Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies both entered the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, Friday night on four-game winning streaks.

However, the Pelicans were unable to keep their winning ways going as they fell 139-126 to a Grizzlies team that is in third place in the Western Conference standings.

A win would have given the Pels their first five-game winning streak since March 2023. Not even last season, when the Pels won the second most games in franchise history, did they win five games in a row.

Such a streak will have to wait as they lost to the Grizzlies for the third time this season. All your losses were double digits.

The Pelicans were unable to capitalize on a scoring flurry to close out the second quarter.

The Pelicans finished the first half on a 15-2 run and led 71-62 at halftime. The 71 points in the first half was a new season high, surpassing the first half of 67 points against the Denver Nuggets in December.

The trio of Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum and Jordan Hawkins sparked the explosion in the first half. Murray scored 17 points in the half, while McCollum and Hawkins each scored 15 points. Pels shot 56% from the floor in the first two quarters.

The Grizzlies (30-15), the NBA’s top-scoring team, withstood it, however, outscoring the Pelicans 43-29 in the third quarter.

Memphis is averaging a league-best 123.3 points per game and hit that mark five minutes into the fourth quarter to take a 124-112 lead.

There was no Zion Williamson or Ja Morant on the court Friday, as has often been the case when the Pelicans and Grizzlies play.

This latest game in Memphis was the 21st time the Pelicans and Grizzlies have played since Williamson and Morant were selected first and second, respectively, in the 2019 NBA Draft. The two faces of their respective franchises have played against each other in just eight of those games.

Williamson, who missed Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz with an illness, was ruled out for Friday’s game “to return to play in rehab from the illness.” Morant also missed the game with an illness.

The Pelicans could have used Williamson, who has missed all three games against the Grizzlies this season. He is expected to play Saturday when the Pelicans play the second game of a back-to-back in Charlotte against the Hornets.

The Pelicans had four players score 20 or more points. Murray led the way with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds. McCollum and Trey Murphy each had 22, and Hawkins had 20.