Phoenix Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans
Friday, December 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22500429
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 23 25 32 28 108PHX 26 27 28 34 115
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Booker scores 30 points and leads the Suns past the Pelicans, 115-108
NEW ORLEANS -- — Devin Booker scored 30 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 115-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in the opener of a two-game series.
The Suns trailed 100-97 after Zion Williamson hit a free throw with 4:58 left, but the Suns closed out New Orleans by outscoring the Pelicans 18-8 the rest of the way. Booker started the surge with two free throws, and Mark Williams then made four consecutive free throws and a dunk off an alley-oop feed from Booker. Williams finished with 24 points, including 10 in the final period, and 13 rebounds.
Williamson led the Pelicans with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Jordan Poole and Trey Murphy III had 19 points apiece. But the Pelicans hurt themselves with an abysmal night from the foul line, going 25 of 42.
The teams play again Saturday in New Orleans.
Williamson's layup with 1:51 left cut the Suns’ lead to 107-106, but Phoenix iced the game with a 15-foot jumper by Collin Gillespie that started a five-point run in a 35-second span.
Despite shaky outside shooting – just 5 of 24 from long range – the Suns built a 53-48 halftime lead on the power of their rebounding. Phoenix outrebounded New Orleans 31-23 in the first half, including a 12-6 advantage on the offensive boards that led to a 17-6 edge in second-chance points.
Rasheer Fleming came off the bench in the second quarter with three layups in an 11-2 spurt to give the Suns a 44-37 lead. Poole kept the Pelicans close with 11 first-half points that included a pair of 25-footers and a four-point play.
The Pelicans missed seven free throws in the third quarter but still managed to close the deficit to 81-80 entering the final period.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXCG C. Gillespie
DB D. Booker
DB D. Brooks
JB J. Bouyea
JG J. Goodwin
MW M. Williams
OI O. Ighodaro
RD R. Dunn
RF R. Fleming
RO R. O'Neale
NOPBM B. McGowens
DQ D. Queen
JA J. Alvarado
JF J. Fears
JP J. Poole
KM K. Matković
SB S. Bey
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
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
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