CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, including seven straight late in the fourth quarter, and the New Orleans Pelicans pulled out a 115-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
“Zion (Williamson) turned to me before the start of the fourth quarter and said, ‘Let’s turn it up a notch,’” Ingram said.
Ingram hit a 3-pointer that gave the Pelicans a 109-107 lead. DeMar DeRozan’s dunk tied it, but Ingram countered with a mid-range basket and DeRozan committed a turnover with 17.4 seconds left.
“It was nobody else’s fault,” DeRozan said. “It was on me.”
The Pelicans overcame 3-for-19 shooting from beyond the arc, including an 0-for-5 performance by CJ McCollum.
“We did what we needed to do down the stretch,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said.
DeRozan, who scored a season-low nine points Monday, led Chicago with 33. Zach LaVine had 23 but was 3 for 12 on 3s.
The Bulls used an 8-0 run, punctuated by LaVine’s layup, to take a 97-93 lead with 5:23 left. But then Ingram scored seven consecutive points to put the Pelicans in front.
Chicago’s bench was dormant for 2 1/2 quarters before Goran Dragic sparked a 9-2 spurt that enabled the Bulls to take an 82-79 lead into the fourth. Dragic scored five points and fed Javonte Green for a lob dunk.
Dragic, who finished with 14 points, also hit Derrick Jones Jr. for a three-point play less than a minute into the fourth period.
Despite going 2 of 14 from 3-point distance and receiving only eight points from Williamson, Ingram and McCollum (0 for 7 from the field), the Pelicans overcame an 11-point deficit to seize a 52-50 halftime lead.
Jonas Valanciunas scored seven of New Orleans’ final 17 points of the half. The Pelicans also got 25 points from their bench in the first two quarters.
DeRozan and LaVine accounted for 29 of the Bulls’ first-half points.
There were 14 lead changes and the teams were tied 19 times.
SHOOT FIRST
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he encourages LaVine to catch and shoot more frequently and not worry about distributing to his teammates, especially with opponents keying on DeRozan.
“As great as he’s been offensively, the one thing he has to try to do for our team is to try to take those catch-and-shoot 3s,” Donovan said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: F Larry Nance Jr. (left knee) remained out after feeling soreness during the morning shootaround, Green said.
Bulls: C Andre Drummond (left shoulder) returned after missing six games due to a strain. “There’s no minutes restriction. It’s more how he’s feeling,” Donovan said. Drummond entered with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
Bulls: Host the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
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