On December 24, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Pelicans almost suffered a reversal when they led by 20 points at the beginning of the third quarter, and finally they defeated the Magic 110-104 on the road. The Pelicans won four straight games after the game, brandon Ingram had 31 points, six rebounds and four assists, and the Magic had three people who scored 20+ points, but the previous two-game winning streak was over. The second meeting between the two teams of the season will take place in New Orleans on March 10 next year.
Ingram attacked with the ball
Match stats: Magic trio score 20+
The Magic four scored in double figures, with Franz Wagner having 20 points and five rebounds, Cole Anthony contributing 22 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, Gary Harris 22 points and Wendell Carter Jr. with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Pelicans scored in double figures, with the exception of Ingram, Josh Hart had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, Derwent Graham had 18 points, five rebounds and six assists, and Willie Hernangomez grabbed 16 rebounds.
Game Recap: Pelicans beat Magic
Although both teams were in second-to-last place in their respective leagues before the game, they have been gaining momentum lately, with the Magic winning two and the Pelicans winning three in a row. However, in today's game, it was the Pelicans who played away from home that continued the momentum.
After the game began, Carter Jr. took the lead in breaking the deadlock for the Magic, but then they were 8 consecutive offensive points, the Pelicans blossomed more points to successfully play a 9-2 start, and then Oaker made a layup to break the Magic's 3-minute scoring drought. Harris exploded, hitting three consecutive shots to get eight points while covering Graham's shots and leading the Magic to a 12-pointer. However, the Magic did not have a good time, and then their offensive success rate was lower again, with another point missing in the last 2 minutes and 36 seconds of the first quarter, and in the last 3 minutes and 22 seconds of the quarter, the Pelicans played a 9-1 offensive wave to take a 32-17 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Magic's offensive success rate improved in the second quarter, which allowed them to suppress the Pelicans slightly. With 3:08 left in the quarter, Ingram threw a shot and the Pelicans completed a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to 50-31. Harris then stepped up again to hit a three-pointer, and soon after he hit another mid-range shot, the Magic completed the quarter with a 12-5 run and trailed the score to 43-55 at the end of halftime.
The Magic continued to chase points in the third quarter, with Ingram scoring 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first 3 minutes and 11 seconds of the quarter, and one person led the Pelicans to a 10-2 start and extended the lead to 20 points. But the Magic did not collapse, they used three points to fight back, in the middle of the quarter, Carter Jr., Graham, Wagner all scored three points, with 3 minutes and 20 seconds left in the quarter, after The Magic completed a 15-3 offensive climax, successfully chasing the score to 70-73. Ingram scored 14 points in the quarter, but Wagner was even more explosive, scoring another goal with 3.8 seconds left in the quarter to score his 17th point of the quarter and lead the Magic to a 78-83 deficit at the end of the quarter.
With five minutes left in the game, Carter Jr. hit two free throws and the Magic trailed by just three points 90-93. Hart hit two consecutive three-pointers at the crucial moment, and although the Magic then responded with a 7-0 offensive wave to narrow the gap to two points, Graham also hit a three-pointer with 1:42 left in the game, and the Pelicans still led by five points at 102-97. Anthony then scored a goal, but Ingram immediately returned with a hit. After the Magic failed to hit two consecutive shots, they had to resort to foul tactics, and after Hart hit two free throws, the Pelicans led by seven points with 25.2 seconds left in the game. The magic was gone, and in the end they lost 104-110.
The starting lineup of both sides of this game -
Magic: Anthony, Harris, Wagner, Oakock, Carter Jr
Pelicans: Graham, Hart, Ingram, Jones, Hernangomez
![Pretty handsome! Howard saved the ball and smashed Carter Jr. sports glasses into the air James picked them up and put them on[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)