Pelicans set new highs in dominant win at San Antonio

The New Orleans Pelicans were looking to sweep a 3-game road trip.

While the odds were pretty good, the San Antonio Spurs were coming off a big home win over the Los Angeles Lakers, snapping an 18-game losing streak.

At home, the Spurs were on a high, with extra motivation as Tony Parker had his banner unveiled in the loft of the Frost Bank Center.

That high would not last.

The New Orleans Pelicans did not cooperate, dominating from start to finish in a 146-110 victory.

The 146 points were a season high.

That was largely due to tremendous shooting from 3-point range.

New Orleans shot 22-of-42 (55%) from 3-point range in a brilliant performance. The 22 made 3-pointers are a new team record.

The Pelicans came out hot, leading by as many as 20 points in the first. New Orleans led 33-20 after one quarter and 61-51 by halftime.

The Pelicans made 11-of-23 three-pointers in the first half, including four by Brandon Ingram, who was 4-of-5, finishing the half with 16 points while CJ McCollum made all four of his 3-point attempts and scored 15 points.

New Orleans put the game away in the third quarter, scoring 44 points and taking a convincing 105-78 lead to the final quarter, making 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the quarter.

The beauty of the play in the first three quarters was New Orleans getting to rest its key players in the fourth quarter. No one played more than 27 minutes, leaving those players fresh moving forward.

McCollum led the way with 29 points in just 26 minutes, going 10-of-15 from the field and 6-of-7 from 3-point range. Ingram scored 26 points in just 27 minutes, going 10of-17 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. It was a welcome site as Ingram was coming off a season-low eight-point performance in a win over the Hornets in Charlotte.

Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer. Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall each added a trio from 3-point range.

The Pelicans easily won the boards by a 52-39 margin and had 38 assists on 55 made shots, a sure sign of excellent spacing and ball movement.

The win was the fourth straight for New Orleans, its longest streak of the season, to get to 16-11 overall. New Orleans is now a very respectable 7-7 on the road.

The Grizzlies come to New Orleans Tuesday night for a nationally televised game on TNT.

Memphis is just 6-18 and on a 4-game losing streak but the Grizzlies get their star player back as Ja Morant comes off suspension and will play his first game of the season against the Pelicans.

Surely, the Grizzlies will be motivated and ready to take their best shot.

If the Pelicans play like they played today, getting to five straight wins is a great possibility.