Zion Williamson scored 38 points and Brandon Ingram had 27 points and eight assists in rallying the New Orleans Pelicans to a 116-109 victory over the injury-plagued Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
Dean Wade scored a career-high 21 points and Kevin Love and Isaac Okoro each had 19 for Cleveland, which was without starters Collin Sexton (left groin strain), Darius Garland (right ankle sprain), Jarrett Allen (concussion) and Larry Nance Jr. (illness).
One night earlier, the Cavaliers allowed a franchise-record 87 points in the first half and were routed 135-115 by Toronto at home. The Raptors didn’t play their top three scorers in Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry.
“A lot of guys really stepped up — Dean Wade was awesome — and we responded in a tough spot tonight,” Love said. “We just gave up a little too much in the fourth and couldn’t make shots that we needed, myself included.”
Naji Marshall had 15 points for New Orleans, which won its second in a row. There were five lead changes in the final eight minutes with Cleveland taking its final advantage at 107-106 on Cedi Osman’s hoop.
Osman scored 15 points off the bench, while Matthew Dellavedova had seven points and 10 assists in his initial start of the season. Cleveland fell four games behind the last play-in position in the East.