Brandon Ingram hit a jumper with 4.9 seconds left and the New Orleans Pelicans rallied from behind to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 105-103 on Friday night.
New Orleans trailed until CJ McCollum made a 3-pointer and floater to tie it at 91 with 8:20 to go. Jordan Hawkins made free throws to put New Orleans in front. The Pelicans extended the lead to 97-91 on Daniel Theis’ layup.
Anfernee Simons’ jumper put Portland back in front with 2:24 left. It was back and fourth down the stretch until Ingram’s game-winner.
Hawkins led the Pelicans with 24 points.
Zion Williamson was in the starting lineup for the Pelicans after missing the team’s opener against Chicago with an illness. He finished with 16 points.
Portland jumped out to a 27-15 lead in the first quarter and held on to a double-digit lead through most of the half to lead 47-37 at the break.
Pelicans: Dejounte Murray is expected to miss four-to-six weeks because of a hand injury he sustained in the fourth quarter of New Orleans’ season opener against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. Jose Alvarado replaced him in the starting lineup.
Trail Blazers: Rookie big man Donovan Clingan played just seven minutes in the first half but had three blocks. In the third quarter, he stripped Yves Missi of a rebound from behind, got the layup and drew a foul. Clingan finished with four points and four blocks in 14 minutes.
Ingram drove into the paint on Simons and made a contested turnaround jumper to give the Pelicans a 105-103 lead with 4.9 seconds left.
Jerami Grant finished with 34 points, including eight 3-pointers, for the Blazers, breaking his previous best of seven set against Cleveland in 2022.
The Pelicans and the Blazers play again at the Moda Center on Sunday afternoon.
