Game ID: 22300588
Phoenix Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans
Friday, January 19, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 28 24 28 29 109PHX 41 28 31 23 123
NOP vs PHX ScoutingNOP vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NOP availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Alvarado missed 2 since 1/07, returns tonight: 17 min (91% of 18)
OUT Ryan missed 25 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Murphy III back 1/05 after 3, 22 min since (72% of 30)
NOP availability going into 1/13 · back-to-backOUT Ryan missed 26 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Murphy III back 1/05 after 3, 23 min since (76% of 30)
BACK Alvarado back 1/12 after 2, 17 min since (91% of 18)
NOP availability going into 1/15 · 1 day's restOUT Ryan missed 27 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Murphy III back 1/05 after 3, 23 min since (76% of 30)
BACK Alvarado back 1/12 after 2, 21 min since (118% of 18)
NOP availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Ryan missed 28 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Alvarado back 1/12 after 2, 21 min since (118% of 18)
NOP availability going into 1/19 · 1 day's restOUT Ryan missed 29 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Alvarado back 1/12 after 2, 15 min since (83% of 18)
NOP availability going into 1/23 · 3 days' restOUT Ryan missed 30 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Alvarado back 1/12 after 2, 13 min since (72% of 18)
NOP availability going into 1/26 · 2 days' restOUT Ryan missed 31 since 11/20, out tonight
NEW Hawkins 17 to 23 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 1/27 · back-to-backOUT Ryan missed 32 since 11/20, out tonight
NOP availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restOUT Ryan missed 33 since 11/20, out tonight
PHX availability going into 1/08 · back-to-backOUT Gordon missed 2 since 1/05, returns tonight: 25 min (88% of 28)
BACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 36 min since (97% of 38)
BACK Eubanks back 1/01 after 3, 11 min since (72% of 16)
BACK Bates-Diop back 1/01 after 7, 18 min since (116% of 15)
BACK Watanabe back 1/01 after 2, 7 min since (55% of 13)
BACK Bol back 1/01 after 2, 16 min since (153% of 11)
NEW Metu 12 to 17 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 1/11 · 2 days' restOUT Bol missed 2 since 1/07, returns tonight: 17 min (162% of 11)
BACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 36 min since (95% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 25 min since (88% of 28)
BACK Eubanks back 1/01 after 3, 12 min since (78% of 16)
BACK Bates-Diop back 1/01 after 7, 15 min since (95% of 15)
BACK Watanabe back 1/01 after 2, 7 min since (50% of 13)
PHX availability going into 1/14 · 2 days' restBACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 34 min since (92% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (85% of 28)
BACK Bol back 1/11 after 2, 17 min since (162% of 11)
PHX availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restBACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 35 min since (94% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
BACK Bol back 1/11 after 2, 17 min since (162% of 11)
PHX availability going into 1/19 · 2 days' restOUT Goodwin missed 2 since 1/14, returns tonight: 4 min (29% of 14)
OUT Watanabe missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 36 min since (96% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
PHX availability going into 1/21 · 1 day's restOUT Watanabe missed 3 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 3 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (87% of 28)
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
PHX availability going into 1/22 · back-to-backOUT Watanabe missed 4 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 4 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
PHX availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Goodwin missed 2 since 1/21, returns tonight: 4 min (29% of 14)
OUT Watanabe missed 5 since 1/14, returns tonight: 7 min (55% of 13)
OUT Bol missed 5 since 1/14, out tonight
PHX availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Gordon missed 2 since 1/22, returns tonight: 30 min (109% of 28)
OUT Bol missed 6 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
BACK Watanabe back 1/24 after 5, 7 min since (55% of 13)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 28 free throws a game; Williamson at 23 and McCollum at 18 a game. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. 2 days' rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the arc, New Orleans at 44 percent from three to Phoenix's 38 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 13 times a game to New Orleans's 10. Call it New Orleans 120, Phoenix 115.
1/12 @ DEN 113-125 — NOP notes
NOP lost 113-125. NOP shot 47% (42 of 89) to DEN's 56%, 13 of 33 from three, and went to the line 22 times to DEN's 15 — 16 points from the stripe to their 11. NOP turned it over 8 times to DEN's 15. The glass went 35-48 against them. Williamson led with 30 (13 of 22, 4 of 6 at the line); Valančiūnas added 17, Nance Jr. 13. Q4 was theirs, 33-25, the deficit cut from 20 to 12, but the other 3 periods went 100-80 against them. Murphy III's -18 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/13 @ DAL 118-108 — NOP notes
NOP won 118-108. NOP shot 49% (39 of 79) to DAL's 45%, 12 of 30 from three, and went to the line 37 times to DAL's 20 — 28 points from the stripe to their 19. The glass went 44-34 for them. Hawkins led with 34 (11 of 19, 6 of 12 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Jones added 15, Valančiūnas 14. The hinge was Q3, 39-27: NOP came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 7. NOP trailed 49-54 at the half and won the second half 69-54. Daniels was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
1/15 @ DAL 120-125 — NOP notes
NOP lost 120-125. NOP shot 51% (41 of 81) to DAL's 46%, 7 of 23 from three, and went to the line 41 times to DAL's 35 — 31 points from the stripe to their 29. Williamson led with 30 (12 of 17, 6 of 11 at the line); McCollum added 23, Nance Jr. 14. Q2 was theirs, 42-26, the deficit cut from 16 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 99-78 against them. They led by as many as 10. Valančiūnas's -22 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/17 vs CHA 132-112 — NOP notes
NOP won 132-112. NOP shot 50% (44 of 88) to CHA's 43%, 25 of 47 from three. Ingram led with 28 (8 of 19, 7 of 11 from three); McCollum added 22, Hawkins 21. The hinge was Q3, 30-21: a lead of 5 became 14, and the lead reached 24. Nance Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
1/19 vs PHX 109-123 — NOP notes
NOP lost 109-123. NOP shot 44% (41 of 93) to PHX's 49%, 10 of 42 from three. Williamson led with 24 (11 of 17); Ingram added 17, Valančiūnas 16. Q4 was theirs, 29-23, the deficit cut from 20 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 100-80 against them. Williamson's -23 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/23 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 29 free throws a game; Williamson at 24 and McCollum at 18 a game. 3 days' rest. Utah comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 133 a night and allowing 121, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 32 free throws a game; Sexton at 27 and Markkanen at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Hendricks (4 straight), Horton-Tucker (8 straight), Juzang (18 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Utah has been plus-9 a night and New Orleans minus-1 and the turnovers, Utah giving it away 14 times a game to New Orleans's 10. Call it New Orleans 120, Utah 119, Utah keeping it close.
1/26 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 28 free throws a game; McCollum at 23 and Williamson at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-5 a night and OKC minus-2. Call it New Orleans 119, OKC 118, OKC keeping it close.
1/27 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 30 and Lillard at 26 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Williamson at 21 and McCollum at 21 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the arc, New Orleans at 38 percent from three to Milwaukee's 33 and the line, where Milwaukee takes 29 free throws a game to New Orleans's 23. Call it Milwaukee 119, New Orleans 118, New Orleans keeping it close.
1/29 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 25 and Porziņģis at 24 a game. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Ingram at 20 and Williamson at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 109 a night to New Orleans's 121 and the turnovers, New Orleans giving it away 13 times a game to Boston's 9. Call it Boston 119, New Orleans 112.
1/08 @ LAC 111-138 — PHX notes
PHX lost 111-138. PHX shot 49% (38 of 77) to LAC's 62%, 10 of 30 from three, and went to the line 29 times to LAC's 23 — 25 points from the stripe to their 17. The glass went 25-44 against them. Durant led with 30 (10 of 17, 3 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Booker added 20, Beal 15. Q3 was theirs, 28-30, but the other 3 periods went 108-83 against them. Booker's -31 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/11 @ LAL 127-109 — PHX notes
PHX won 127-109. PHX shot 49% (46 of 93) to LAL's 50%, 14 of 39 from three. PHX turned it over 12 times to LAL's 18. Beal led with 37 (14 of 21, 8 of 10 from three); Booker added 31, Durant 18. The hinge was Q3, 39-26: a lead of 14 became 27, and the lead reached 32. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/14 @ POR 127-116 — PHX notes
PHX won 127-116. PHX shot 61% (46 of 76) to POR's 45%, 13 of 28 from three. Booker led with 34 (14 of 22, 1 of 6 from three); Beal added 23, Durant 21. The hinge was Q2, 40-28: PHX came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 17. Nurkić was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
1/16 vs SAC 119-117 — PHX notes
PHX won 119-117. PHX shot 49% (42 of 85) to SAC's 50%, 17 of 37 from three, and went to the line 20 times to SAC's 12 — 18 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 46-31 for them. Allen led with 29 (10 of 17, 9 of 14 from three); Durant added 27, Booker 16. The hinge was Q4, 35-21: PHX came in trailing by 12 and left it ahead by 2. PHX trailed 51-68 at the half and won the second half 68-49. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
1/19 @ NOP 123-109 — PHX notes
PHX won 123-109. PHX shot 49% (46 of 93) to NOP's 44%, 15 of 41 from three. Booker led with 52 (18 of 30, 6 of 11 from three, 10 of 10 at the line); Durant added 26, Beal 13. The hinge was Q1, 41-28: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 30. Nurkić was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
1/21 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Booker at 31 and Durant at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Turner at 17 and Hield at 16 a game. Without Nembhard (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Phoenix 121, Indiana 117, Indiana keeping it close.
1/22 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 112, shooting 53 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Booker at 32 and Durant at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 114, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; DeRozan at 21 and White at 20 a game. Without Craig (17 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-8 a night and Chicago plus-2. Call it Phoenix 117, Chicago 113, Chicago keeping it close.
1/24 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Irving at 31 and Hardaway Jr. at 26 a game. Without Exum (9 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 31 and Booker at 29 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: Dallas wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-4 a night and Dallas minus-2 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 113 a night to Dallas's 122. Call it Dallas 118, Phoenix 117, Phoenix keeping it close.
1/26 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 118, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Turner at 20 and Siakam at 20 a game. Without Haliburton (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 112, shooting 53 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Booker at 31 and Durant at 30 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Gordon (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-7 a night and Indiana plus-0 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 112 a night to Indiana's 118. Call it Phoenix 119, Indiana 118, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
CM C. Metu
DB D. Booker
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JG J. Goodwin
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KB K. Bates-Diop
KD K. Durant
NL N. Little
NU Nurkic
UA U. Azubuike
NOPBI B. Ingram
CM C. McCollum
CZ C. Zeller
DD D. Daniels
HJ H. Jones
JA J. Alvarado
JH J. Hawkins
JV J. Valančiūnas
LN L. Nance Jr.
NM N. Marshall
TM T. Murphy III
VA Valanciunas
ZW Z. Williamson
PHX/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
NEW ORLEANS -- — As Devin Booker hit his sixth 3-pointer of the night to eclipse the 50-point plateau, he turned and looked up about 15 rows behind the Phoenix Suns ' bench, where his father and grandfather were sitting.
Booker scored a season-high 52 points in 37 minutes on the court — his second straight 50-point game against New Orleans — and the Phoenix Suns beat the Pelicans 123-109 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
“I got 50 folks out there and I’m about to go see them,” said Booker, who played in high school on the Mississippi coast. “That's where my main motivation comes, from all my family that's here. They drive over every time I play here and I like to put no a show for them.”
The last time Booker — who had 25 points in the first quarter — was in the Suns’ lineup against New Orleans he scored 58 points in a victory in Phoenix on Dec. 17, 2022. On Friday, he was 18 of 30 from the field, 6 of 11 on 3s and made 10 free throws without a miss.
Booker reached 50 points for the sixth time in his career. He had a career-high 70 at Boston on March 24, 2017.
“The guy’s just got an incredible killer instinct,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. "He had that look in his eyes tonight.
“It was a great team win, but Book was spectacular,” Vogel added. “He was able to torch these guys, but when the double-teams came, he shared it.”
Kevin Durant added 26 points and Jusuf Nurkic grabbed 15 rebounds for Phoenix. The Suns shot 49.5% (46 of 93) and led by 30 points in the second half.
Zion Williamson scored 24 points for the Pelicans, who didn't shoot well enough to keep up with Booker and Co. New Orleans missed 32 of 42 3-point shots — two nights after making a franchise-record 25 from deep in a blowout victory over Charlotte.
“They kind of knocked us on our heels early,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Once they did, it was just hard for us to get back into a rhythm.”
More than his team's off night shooting from the outside, Green was bothered by his starters' defensive effort.
"That's where their biggest struggles are. We have talked about it and had honest discussions," Green said. "They can score, but we've got to guard.”
The arena was packed to the top row of the upper deck for what looked to be a matchup between a pair of ascending teams in the Western Conference.
Revved up from the opening tip, the crowd exploded when Ingram hit a 15-foot pullup in the opening minute for the games' first points. The was the largest Pelicans lead they saw all night, and it was short-lived.
Booker responded with a 3 and went on to hit nine of his first 11 shots on a mix of pull-ups, turnarounds, fades, floaters and three 3s to reach 25 points before the first quarter ended.
“When he starts off aggressive, looking to score, that just opens the floor up for everybody,” Durant said. “I expect this from him when we go out there — I’m not saying 50 points — but that aggressiveness, the shot-making."
The Pelicans, by sharp contrast, missed 17 of their first 19 3-point attempts.
Phoenix led by 23 in the second quarter before the Pelicans managed to trim their deficit to 17 by halftime at 69-52, thanks for a 7-0 run the featured Trey Murphy III 's 3 and Williamson's alley-oop dunk.
But Booker went about squelching any momentum the Pelicans hoped to have gained in the second half. He scored 20 points in the third quarter, and the Suns led 100-80 heading into the final period.