----- Brandon Ingram finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 111-97 Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 28 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists as the Pelicans topped the Trail Blazers 111-97 Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Damian Lillard scored a game-high 39 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points, five rebounds, and four asissts for the Blazers.
After being frustrated with a series of no-calls, Lillard was ejected from the game with 1.2 seconds remaining. It was the first time he had been ejected from an NBA game during his career.
Neither team led by more than six in a back-and-forth first half with the Pelicans holding a 51-49 lead.
The Pelicans opened the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run pushing their lead to 89-80. Portland cut the deficit to one-point at 92-91 on a Damian Lillard three-pointer with 6:54 remaining.
New Orleans would put the game away with a 16-4 run.
Nassir Little was a late scratch (illness), Tony Snell got the start and went scoreless in 17 minutes.
Norman Powell finished with 16 points and four rebounds and Anfernee Simons struggled with just two points on 1-of-9 shooting. Portland got just 15 points from their bench.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers return home to meet the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Blazers need a Cronin miracle.