Pelicans star Fat Tiger is injured again, missing the game against the Wizards with a sprained left ankle. The focus of the game was also on two former Lakers players, Ingram and Kuzma, who staged a first-half battle, and in the end, Ingram won the game and won the game.
First sectionKuzma scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting to give the Wizards a 14-point leadAfter that, Ingram also responded, scoring the Pelicans' last 11 points in the first quarter with free throws, and also nailed Avdija. The Wizards didn't have a consistent scoring spot after Kuzma went off, and the Pelicans trailed by just two points at 28-30. Ingram played the full first quarter, scoring 13 points on 3-of-7 shooting and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, and the Pelicans' two big locks Jones was 1 of 6, Daniels was 0 of 3, seeing that they didn't feel good, Pelicans head coach Green also reduced their time, Jones only played 19 minutes in this game, and Daniels only played 15 minutes.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Pelicans fired from outside the three-point line, making 6-of-6 three-pointers in just over four minutes, and McCollum alone contributed 11 points to help the Pelicans lead 48-42. Kuzma came back and scored a layup to break the scoring drought, the Pelicans continued to fire, and Varan also scored three points, and the Pelicans exploded a wave of 23-4 surge to lead by 13 points. The Wizards struggled to chase down the points, but Ingram scored four points on consecutive free throws, Jones scored on a layup, and the Pelicans stopped the Wizards again. Kuzma and Yingge battled it out, with Kuzma scoring on a throwaway and Ingramrick answering with two points. Kuzma drew a foul on Ingram and hit both free throws, then hit a three-pointer and Ingram scored on a layup to give the Pelicans a six-point lead. Avdija made it 2+1, Marshall hit a three-pointer, Ingram hit a layup, and then a three-pointer to give the Pelicans a 75-64 lead. Ingram added 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the second quarter, McCollum also scored 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Kuzma scored nine points on 3-of-7 shooting.
Ingram's firepower continued in the third quarter, and he played the whole third quarter, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, and had scored 36 points after the third quarter。Kuzma was dumb in this quarter, scoring 2 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists on 1-of-3 shooting in the first quarter, and the Pelicans took the opportunity to open up the gap and end the third quarter with a 110-93 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Murphy made three three-pointers to extend the lead to 21 points, Kuzma and Ingram also returned to the court one after another, Ingram scored four points in a row, the score exceeded 40 points in this game, and the Pelicans also led to 28 points. In the end, the Pelicans defeated the Wizards 142-122 to win two straight victories and send their opponents to six straight losses. The last time the Wizards won was on Nov. 28, when they won the Pistons, and the team has now suffered a 21-game losing streak.
Ingram played 30 minutes in this game, shooting 14 of 23 from the field, 11 of 12 from the free throw line, scoring 40 points, setting a new high this season, Murphy shot 7 of 10, 6 of 7 three-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws to score 27+6+4. McCollum had 22 points and 6 assists on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 three-pointers, Valanciunas had a 16+18 double-double, and Marshall also had 16 points and 7 assists.
The Wizards had six players score in double figures, Kuzma was 10-of-19, 4-of-8 three-pointers scored a team-high 27 points and 7 rebounds and 4 assists, No. 7 pick Koulibaly had 16 points and 5 rebounds, Avdija had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists on 4-of-8 shooting, Kisbert scored 12 points, and Poole's performance was difficult to satisfy the fans, he played 31 minutes and 5-of-12 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range with 11 points, 4 assists and 5 turnovers.
This battle between the two Lakers veterans Ingram and Kuzma is very exciting, especially in the second quarter, the two offenses set off a wave of scoring, but in the second half, Kuzma was a little dumb and only scored a total of 4 points, and Ingram scored a double-double in each quarter except for the fourth quarter early punch in, whether it was data or the result of the game, Ingram had the last laugh.
However, it is indeed time for Fat Tiger, and it was previously said that Zion was unwilling to listen to the team's advice to improve his diet, and he also had a significant belly. Although he has not suffered major injuries this season, he has also been out of action for five games, and his knees and ankles are difficult to support his weight and flying style of play. Fat Tiger's ability to play high-end games is also questionable, and with both of his knockout games in the midseason tournament not playing well, Zion should make some changes to reduce his score and seek some new scoring methods.