Pelicans make free throws down stretch to hold off Bucks

Against one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA, you had to feel like the New Orleans Pelicans would have to score at a premium level against the Milwaukee Bucks, the highest scoring team in the league.

Ironically, two high scoring teams found it hard to score much of the night.

With the game on the line, the Pelicans made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 6:12, including the last six in the final 37.1 seconds to hold off the Bucks 107-100 before an enthusiastic, sellout crowd Thursday night at Smoothie King Center.

The Pelicans had the edge most of the way but could not put the game away until the final minute.

New Orleans came out shooting poorly, making just 1-of-10 attempts from 3-point range in the first quarter but still carried a 26-25 lead into the second quarter. Williamson had eight points in the quarter while Antetokounmpo scored 10 points for the Bucks.

CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas turned it on in a superb second quarter for the Pelicans as New Orleans outscored the Bucks 35-20 to take a 61-45 halftime lead. McCollum finished the half with 18 points while Valanciunas finished with 13 points.

Antetokounmpo came out in the third quarter in his MVP fashion, dominating for the first 10 minutes of the quarter, scoring 20 points in the period as Milwaukee closed to within 74-71 before Trey Murphy III, who had missed his first six 3-point attempts, connected on consecutive triples. New Orleans closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to take an 85-73 lead going to the fourth quarter.

Once again, the Pelicans struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, scoring just 22 points but got enough stops and made free throws to secure a key win.

Williamson finished with 28 points and five rebounds while McCollum had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

New Orleans is now 23-3 with McCollum scores 20 or more points. That is perhaps the best measuring stick of any for the 2023-24 Pelicans.

Valanciunas was excellent, recording a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Murphy had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 rebounds are a career high for Murphy.

With Jose Alvarado out with an illness and with Naji Marshall having a rare off game, failing to score a point, the Pelicans scored just nine bench points, all by Larry Nance Jr.

New Orleans had a 52-44 edge in points in the paint and scored 17 points off 14 Milwaukee turnovers. The Pelicans committed just seven turnovers. The Pelicans won despite being outscored 42-24 from 3-point range. New Orleans was just 8-of-32 from beyond the arc.

Now 45-28 with nine games to play, the Pelicans maintain a 1 ½ game lead over Dallas for the fifth spot in the Western Conference. The Pelicans return to action Saturday against the team with the best record in the NBA in Boston at Smoothie King Center at 4 p.m.