NEW ORLEANS (AP) 鈥� Naji Marshall scored a career-high 22 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans extended their winning streak to three games, beating the Indiana Pacers 113-93 on Monday night.
CJ McCollum added 19 points for New Orleans, which was missing top scorer Zion Williamson along with Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III.
鈥淵ou aren鈥檛 going to have 10 players scoring 20 points apiece,鈥� Valanciunas said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about stepping up when your number is called.鈥�
Rookie Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 15 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Myles Turner scored 14 points for Indiana.
New Orleans had its best first-half defensive effort of the season, holding Indiana to 38 points on 14 baskets. The Pelicans led 57-38 at the break and maintained a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what it鈥檚 about for us,鈥� New Orleans coach Willie Green said of his team鈥檚 defensive effort. 鈥淭he first day I got here I talked about working and continuing to build a foundation defensively because it鈥檚 sustainable. Our offense can come and go. We didn鈥檛 shoot the ball great tonight, but we defended and got stops. So far we are doing a great job of that.鈥�
New Orleans forced 13 turnovers by Indiana and outrebounded the Pacers 54-36.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes us dangerous,鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淲hen we get stops and get out on the run, hit 3-pointers and attack the rim, I think that鈥檚 our calling card right there. To see the stats after the game shows we are moving in the right direction.鈥�
Trailing 18-9 midway through the first quarter, the Pelicans took control with a 13-0 run, holding the Pacers scoreless during the final 5:30 of the quarter to take a 24-18 lead.
鈥淚ndiana is a very hard-playing team with a lot of energy,鈥� Valanciunas said. 鈥淭hey are a high-paced team and we knew we had to do a better job defending them. Our defensive effort was the key.鈥�
New Orleans had a 15-0 run in the second quarter to push the advantage to 43-23 and never looked back.
鈥淎 good start for the first four minutes and then a really bad last 44 minutes,鈥� Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 鈥淭hey were just quicker to the ball. ... This is a top team in the West. I don鈥檛 care if Zion鈥檚 playing or not. I mean, these guys have been beating good teams all year when he鈥檚 been out. McCollum鈥檚 a good player and Valanciunas is very underrated.鈥�
TIP-INS
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, who scored a career-high 43 points in a win over Miami on Friday night, was held to 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Pelicans: Used their 10th starting lineup of the season. ... Prior to the game, Green said the team wanted Williamson to get a full practice in before he returns to play. He has missed three straight games because of health and safety protocols. ... Kira Lewis鈥� 3-pointer in the first quarter was his first points at home in over a year. He missed 55 games last season and had played in only two games so far this season because of a knee injury.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Host Atlanta on Tuesday night.
Pelicans: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.
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David Folse Ii, The Associated Press
