On December 18, Beijing time, the NBA regular season Pelicans challenged the Suns away, before the game, the Pelicans ranked 2nd in the West 18-10, while the Suns ranked 4th in the West with 17-12, and the biggest attraction of this game must be how Zion will play. In terms of the starting lineup, the Pelicans are McCollum, Jones, Murphy, Zion and Valanciunas, Ingram continues to be absent, and the Suns are Paul, Booker, Bridges, Craig and Biyombo.
In the opening game, Booker scored 5 consecutive points, Bridges scored a three-pointer, the Suns attacked a wave of 8-0, Varan jumper, McCollum hit a three-point shot, Jones picked a basket, the Pelicans narrowed the point difference, Booker felt hot, super long three-point score, Paul also hit a three-pointer, Varan threw a shot and Zion made a layup to stop the bleeding, during this time the two teams came and went, timeout back Pelicans began to exert power, McCollum scored 5 points, Varan was also constantly scoring, the Pelicans overtook in a wave, McCollum continued with three points, Booker threw a shot, and the two started a confrontation, Marshall hit a long-range three-pointer, McCollum three-pointer, the Suns couldn't stop him, Daniels made a throw, Marshall made a foul, the Suns were not in a good situation, Shamet made a free throw to stop the bleeding, and the Pelicans won by seven points in a single quarter 34-27.
According to statistics, McCollum scored 15 points in the first quarter, Varan scored 10 points, while Zion didn't shoot much, and Booker scored 12 points on the Suns' side. In the second quarter, both teams began to decline in shooting percentage, Alvarado first made a layup, then hit a three-pointer, the difference went to double digits, Randale made a free throw, Graham responded 2+1, the Suns' defensive strategy is obvious, that is, unlimited wrapping Zion, but teammates can stand up, Jones outside fire, Damian Lee layup, McCollum breaks through to make 2+1, Zion pulls a layup, the Pelicans continue to expand the point difference, Booker feels hot, consecutive points to stop the bleeding for the Suns, Bridges also scored three points, and McCollum responded with a jumper, Daniels made a three-point shot to give the Pelicans a 17-point lead at halftime.
In half-time statistics, McCollum had 24 points and 6 assists, Zion 6 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Booker 22 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Paul 3 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists with almost no presence. At the beginning of the third quarter, McCollum hit a three-point shot, Biyombo ate a pie for a layup, Zion made a foul, at this time the Pelicans led by 24 points, Booker suddenly broke out, hit two consecutive three-pointers, Paul shot a three-point shot and also scored, Murphy three-point the Pelicans to stop the bleeding, the sun shouted a timeout, after coming back, Booker is still scoring, whether it is a breakthrough layup, a three-pointer, or a 2+1 can seize the opportunity, Paul and Bridges also hit a three-pointer, the sun played a wave of flow and actually chased to single digits, Alvarado three-point in time to stop the bleeding, At the end of the third quarter, the Pelicans led by only five points.
Booker was awesome, scoring 21 points in the third quarter, almost equal to the Pelicans. The suspense of the game resumed, the last quarter began Marshall three-point shooting, then Zion was blown away, Booker scored consecutive free throws, jumper also scored, Zion scored 4 consecutive points in response, Booker layup, and then caused 2+1, three-pointers, Booker This is crazy, Paul jumper to help the Suns overtake, then the two teams began a tug-of-war, the Suns substitute Okogie grabbed rebounds in a row, the Suns gradually opened the point difference, Zion layup to stop the bleeding, Paul actually walked at the key moment, fortunately in the subsequent three-point shot, the work was made up, Zion made 2+ 1 continued the Pelicans' life, but Paul's free throws ended the suspense and the Suns defeated the Pelicans 118-114.
The game was really ups and downs, the Suns trailed by 24 points at one point, but they didn't expect to still be able to stage a big comeback, and throughout the game, the two main contributors to the Suns' victory were Booker and Paul. In terms of data, Booker scored 58 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 21 of 35 shooting, including 21 points in the third quarter and 16 points in the final quarter, Booker has been scoring all the time, even if the big score is behind, he did not give up, carrying the Suns forward, according to statistics after the game, Booker set a new record for all players in a single game against the Pelicans in the regular season, becoming the first person in NBA history. Paul had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, hit 5 three-pointers, such as at key moments, Paul three-pointers helped the Suns stabilize the situation. Bridges had 15 points, four rebounds and two assists, Biyombo had 11 points and six rebounds, and Okogie had seven points and six rebounds. On the Pelicans' side, Zion had 30 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists, McCollum had 27 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists, Varan had 12 points and 8 rebounds, Marshall had 11 points and 4 rebounds, and Alvarado had 10 points. After this game, the gap between the Pelicans and the Grizzlies at the top of the list has widened, the Suns are still No. 4, the Western Conference pattern has changed dramatically, and the Grizzlies are currently the most ferocious team in the West.