Pelicans ride hot shooting to blow out Raptors
New Orleans shot a season-best 58.4 per cent
CJ McCollum's first victory with New Orleans was one of the Pelicans' most dominant performances of the season.
It was McCollum's third game with his new club and his most efficient. He made nine of 13 shots, including five of eight from 3-point range, and had five assists, four rebounds, two steals and not a single turnover.
"CJ, he's just a proven professional. He's been doing it for a number of years," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "He's just a leader in general. So, coming to our team, he's doing much of the same."
Brandon Ingram had 10 points and 11 rebounds. His eight assists left him two short of his first triple-double when he was pulled after playing 29 minutes because the game was not close — and because New Orleans plays again Tuesday night.
"I'm not that upset," Ingram said. "I'd rather have rest in that fourth quarter."
'It was a terrible game'
Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes, and reserve big man Jackson Hayes added 14 points for New Orleans, which never trailed and led by as many as 34 points.
Fred VanVleet scored 20 points and Pascal Siakam added 18 points for Toronto, which has lost two straight on the heels of an eight-game winning streak.
"It was just a terrible game," Siakam said. "They came out early and got the lead, and they were just making shots. It was just one of those nights."
"We started off slow on both sides," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "It turned into a really bad night pretty early."
On the other side, the Pelicans had a season-high 36 assists as a team on 45 made field goals, and tied a season high with 16 3s on 36 attempts (44.4%).
Green said he was "definitely impressed" with his club's performance, which stemmed a two-game slide in emphatic fashion.
"It's just impressive in the way we did it, starting with our defense, moving the ball, trusting each other," Green said. "Not every game we'll be able to get 36 assists, but it's great to do it. It's great for guys to trust each other."
