Ingram hits late bomb to lift Pelicans past Timberwolves

The offense was exceptional while the defense was optional on both sides Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Center.

In the end, Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans captured a thrilling 128-125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Ingram calmly drilled a 26-footer just left of the top of the circle with 1.3 seconds left to lift the New Orleans to a 128-125 victory over Minnesota.

The shot capped a night of runs by both teams.

In a wild first quarter, Minnesota took a 36-35 lead before New Orleans grabbed a 65-59 lead by halftime.

The Pelicans opened up a 13-point lead in the third quarter but Minnesota charged back and it was 97-89 going to the final frame.

New Orleans led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter but the Timberwolves again fought back and tied the game on a D’Angelo floater in the late with 3.6 seconds left.

Willie Green called timeout and wisely devised a play to simply get it to Ingram and let him do his thing.

Ingram did it very well.

Ingram had a terrific night with 33 points, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range and he added nine assists.

Josh Hart returned to the lineup with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Herb Jones scored 13 points while Jonas Valanciunas has 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

Jaxson Hayes added 13 points off the bench.

Illustrating the shootout, the Pelicans sank 16-of-33 from 3-point range (48.5%) while Minnesota made 18-of-39 (46.2%) from beyond the arc.

New Orleans shared the ball extremely well, with 33 assists on 42 made shots.

The Pelicans had to overcome 21 turnovers.

In his last three games, Ingram has stepped up to become the star New Orleans needs him to be in the absence of Zion Williams.

In that stretch, Ingram has scored 87 points (29 point avg.) while making 29-of-53 field goal attempts (54.7%) and 8-of-13 from 3-point range (61.5%) and 21-of-23 from the free throw line (91.3%).

With the win, New Orleans improved to 15-26. The Pelicans return to action Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers.