NBA: Pelicans close 1st half strong to beat Jazz for 4th straight win

Saddiq Bey scored 24 points and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Utah Jazz for the second time in three nights on Saturday, 115-105.

Bey, who scored a season-high 42 points in the Pelicans' 129-118 victory on Thursday night, was joined in double figures by rookie Jeremiah Fears (18), who added a season-high 11 rebounds, Bryce McGowens (18 points), Herb Jones (17) and Jordan Poole (11) as New Orleans won its fourth consecutive game.

Leading scorer Trey Murphy III missed his fifth consecutive game because of a right shoulder contusion, and second-leading scorer Zion Williamson had just four points in 11 minutes before leaving the game with a right ankle injury.

New Orleans still had plenty of firepower, leading by as many as 27 points just as it did two nights earlier.

Isaiah Collier scored 21, Keyonte George (ankle) returned from a six-game absence to score 17, Elijah Harkless added 14, Ace Bailey had 13, Kyle Filipowski had 12 and Brice Sensabaugh 10 to lead the Jazz, who lost their fifth straight game.

The Pelicans pushed their 25-point halftime advantage to 27 with 3:57 left in the third quarter, but the Jazz climbed within 89-73 at the end of the period. Utah got as close as seven points early in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans scored the next eight points and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The Pelicans scored the first nine points of the game as the Jazz went nearly five minutes before making their first field goal. Utah pulled even at 17 and 19 before New Orleans held a 27-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Yves Missi, returning from a five-game absence due to a calf strain, made a dunk to start the second-quarter scoring and Poole followed with a 3-pointer to expand the lead to 10 points.

Jones made two 3-pointers and Bey had five points during a 15-0 run that completed a 20-2 surge, giving New Orleans a 65-40 halftime lead. The Jazz didn't make a field goal in the final 4:55.

-Field Level Media/Reuters