Brandon Ingram had 28 points and three 3-pointers, and JJ Redick had 26 points and five 3-pointers as the New Orleans Pelicans opened a three-game road trip with a 124-121 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Jrue Holiday finished with 23 points and nine assists, and E’Twuan Moore contributed 19 points and three 3-pointers for the Pelicans, who shot 53.4 percent from the field while winning for the fourth time in five games.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 25 points and six rebounds, Devin Booker amassed 19 points and seven assists, and Cameron Johnson had 14 points and three 3-pointers for the Suns, who have lost three straight for the first time this season.
Ingram scored seven consecutive points in the last 2:02 for a 124-115 lead with 59 seconds remaining. Booker hit a technical free throw and Johnson scored five points to make it 124-121 with 2.9 seconds to go before Holiday missed two free throws with five-tenths of a second remaining.
The Suns called timeout and got the ball with two-tenths of a second left, and Booker’s desperation overhead tip from behind the 3-point arc was not close.
Redick has four 20-point games in his last six contests and has made 30 of 59 3-point attempts in that stretch. Ingram had eight rebounds and five assists.
The Pelicans made 16 of 35 3-point attempts, 9 of 14 in the second half. New Orleans guard Lonzo Ball had eight points and five assists in 19 minutes after missing the previous six games due to a groin injury.
The Suns were 13 of 31 from 3-point range. Booker, Oubre and Elie Okobo had two apiece. Okobo had season highs with 11 points and seven assists.
The Suns played again without point guard Ricky Rubio and center Aron Baynes. Rubio has missed two of the past three games due to back spasms, and Baynes has missed the past two games with a hip injury.
Redick made 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions midway through the first quarter, turning one into a four-point play, as the Pelicans took a 24-12 lead that gradually evaporated when Johnson made three 3-pointers in the final six minutes of the period.
Oubre’s 3-pointer gave the Suns a 66-59 halftime lead, but the Pelicans made their first 10 field-goal attempts in the third quarter with Redick scoring 12 points to take a 95-94 lead into the fourth quarter.
—Field Level Media
