Pelicans cruise past Cavs, 123-104

Coming off a brutal home loss in the last second to Memphis, the New Orleans Pelicans needed to start well against a winning team in Cleveland.

The Pelicans jumped off to good start and controlled the game in a convincing 123-104 victory Wednesday night over the Cavaliers.

New Orleans did it without Zion Williamson, who sat out with an illness. Williamson played through the illness in the loss to the Grizzlies.

It did not matter.

The Pelicans came out smoking and won every quarter, taking a 36-28 lead after one quarter and led 66-52 at halftime. It was 94-76 heading to the fourth quarter.

Replacing Williamson in the starting lineup, Trey Murphy III picked up the slack, pumping in 28 points. Murphy was 10-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range. CJ McCollum had 18 points and Brandon Ingram added 17 points. Naji Marshall was good off the bench with 14 points and six rebounds, Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 11 points.

New Orleans shot 54.7 percent from the field, including 15-of-35 (42.9%) from 3-point range. The Pelicans were 14-of-16 from the free throw line.

The Pelicans had a 40-35 edge on the boards, a 24-15 edge in fast break points and a 52-44 edge on points in the paint.

The Cavaliers were without star Donovan Mitchell.

The response after a tough loss was a good one.

Murphy may be too good to continue bringing off the bench on a long-term basis. He is a star in the making, waiting to happen.

Now 17-12, the Pelicans return home to host Houston Saturday night.