Video: Pelicans right ship to handle Cavs, 116-82

Coming off of their worst loss of the season to the worst team in the NBA, the New Orleans Pelicans faced another very bad team Friday night at Smoothie King Center.

This time, the Pelicans did not play down to the opposition this time around, righting the ship in an easy 116-82 victory.

The 82 points allowed were the fewest by the usually awful defense of the Pelicans this season.

The Pelicans, as they did against Minnesota Thursday night, took control early, taking a 34-29 lead after one quarter.

New Orleans blew out the Cavs in the second quarter, winning the period 35-19 to take a commanding 69-48 lead at the break.

The Pelicans were not going to let Cleveland back in the game, holding the Cavs to just nine points in the third quarter, another season low by an opponent, to grow the lead to 93-57 going to the final quarter allowing New Orleans to clear the bench and rest starters on the second night of a back-to-back.

Brandon Ingram rebounded from a poor game against the Timberwolves with a fine performance of 28 points, connecting of 11-of-14 from the field with seven rebounds, four assists and no turnovers.

Zion Williamson played just 18 minutes and scored 23 points with six rebounds.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 15 points with eight rebounds and four assists off the bench and Jackson Hayes had 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Steven Adams scored 10 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in what was a team effort.

While the Pelicans virtually always win the rebounding battle, New Orleans crushed Cleveland 70-33 on the boards, a huge factor. New Orleans held Cleveland to just 34 percent from the field.

Considering how the Pelicans played against Minnesota, it was a good response to a very bad performance the night before.

The enthusiasm has to be tempered as the Cavaliers are a bad team but a win is a win.

Of course, the competition increases in steep fashion as the Pelicans host the Clippers Sunday at 8 p.m. to conclude the homestand before heading west for a 3-game road trip.

There is no reason to feel the Pelicans have turned any corner or fixed all that ails this flawed squad but for one night, New Orleans was able to get stops while remaining efficient offensively, despite still shooting poorly (6-of-24) from 3-point range.

The ship isn’t sinking, thanks to the win, though it is still listing.