McCollum Drops 32 in Pels' Victory

Chrissy Smith • March 9, 2023

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It’s officially March Madness season, and the New Orleans Pelicans kicked off their playoff run on Wednesday, March 8 with a win over the Dallas Mavericks, 113-106.

It was the C.J. McCollum and Herb Jones show as the two kept the team afloat until surging to an 18-point lead at the end of the third quarter. McCollum finished with 32 points, making six three-pointers, scoring 16 of his total points in the fourth quarter.

Jones’ defense was a huge factor as he was all over the court using his length to deflect passes as well as holding Luka Doncic to 4-of-14 shooting. Jones also scored 14 points in the game to add to his solid defensive presence.

Doncic did leave the game in the third quarter with a left thigh injury, but not before he received a technical foul for what he said to a referee in the first quarter of the game. It was his 16^th technical of the season so he will be suspended for a future game this season.

Although the game was a great victory for the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram did leave the game right before halftime and did not return with a sprained ankle. There was no update after the game, but Ingram did not leave with a boot on, which is possibly a good sign.

The Pelicans are currently in 10^th place in the Western Conference standings. A reminder on how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.

The Pelicans have 16 games left in the season and play their next contest on Saturday at home against the Thunder at 7:30 pm.

Follow me on Twitter @SportsChrissy

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Pelicans @ Nuggets Takeaways

By Chrissy Smith • October 30, 2025

Team Stats (Pelicans at Nuggets) Final Score: 88-122 Rebounds: 36-57 Assists: 17-40 Steals: 9-5 Blocks: 3-5 Turnovers: 12-14 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 21; Nikola Jokić, 21 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 7; Nikola Jokić, 12 Assist Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 6; Nikola Jokić, 10 My Player of the Game: Jeremiah Fears Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The starters for this game were Fears, Murphy III, Jones, Zion, and Deandre Jordan. So that was different, and it didn't work at all. * With most of the third quarter over, Zion had five total points in the game. He finished with 11. * The Nuggets went on a 32-4 run in the third quarter. The Pelicans came out very slow to start off the third. * New Orleans went 7-of-33 from the three-point line. * Nikola Jokić had a triple-double. The Pelicans had no answer for him all night. * Do the Pelicans know that the season has started because the majority of the guys out there look like they still think they're playing Summer League. * The problem with this team isn't the talent because they have that. So what's the problem? Coaching, effort, etc.? This has to be fixed ASAP. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Celtics @ Pelicans Takeaways

By Chrissy Smith • October 28, 2025

Team Stats (Celtics at Pelicans) Final Score: 122-90 Rebounds: 54-35 Assists: 25-17 Steals: 5-7 Blocks: 7-0 Turnovers: 11-13 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Anfernee Simons, 25; Jordan Poole, 22 Rebound Leaders: Neemias Queta, 11; Yves Miss, 7 Assist Leaders: Payton Prichard, 8; Trey Murphy, III, 5 My Player of the Game: Jordan Poole Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The first two losses of the season were tough but at least the team looked good. In this game, no one looked fired up to compete except Jordan Poole and Jose Alvarado. * Zion did not play because he's been spending all offseason getting in shape just so he could rest after two games. Makes no sense to me. * Trey Murphy and Herb Jones need to find their spark and stride. These guys have been putting in a ton of work in the offseason but it isn't showing right now. * Willie Green has got to be on a short leash because this 0-3 start feels like the team is just picking up where they left off except this time they're healthy and have all the momentum in the world. * The next three games for the Pelicans will be on the road against Denver, Clippers, and Thunder . Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.