PHOENIX (AP) — C.J. McCollum scored 31 points, Zion Williamson had 29 and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns 113-105 on Sunday, leaving the teams tied for the sixth and final guaranteed Western Conference playoff spot.
Both teams are 46-32 with four games remaining, two games behind fifth-place Dallas. The Suns own the tiebreaker, having won the season series 2-1.
Williamson, who sat out Friday night in a loss at San Antonio because of a finger injury, also had 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Pelicans snapped a four-game losing streak and moved to 25-14 on the road. Their next three games are also away from home before finishing at home next Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Devin Booker scored 25 points for Phoenix, but was 0 for 6 from 3-point range. In his previous three games against the Pelicans, he scored 50 or more points, including a 52-point game Monday night in New Orleans.
Bradley Beal led Phoenix with 33 points, making 7 of 8 3-pointers — the rest of the Suns combined for seven. Kevin Durant scored 23 points and Grayson Allen finished with 11. Jusuf Nurkic had 10 rebounds.
The Suns saw a three-game winning streak end. They’re 7-3 in their last 10 games.
New Orleans got off to a slow start, missing its first seven 3-point tries. But McCollum made five and Alvarado four before the first half ended, and the Pelicans were 11 of 24 from behind the arc at intermission. They finished 16 of 39.
The Pelicans again played without Brandon Ingram, out since March 21 with a left knee contusion.
Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with 50-plus points against the same opponent three games in a row, doing it in 1961-62 for the then-Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks.
Only two fouls were called in the first quarter, both on the Pelicans. Jusuf Nurkic committed the Suns’ first foul of the game with 7:45 to play in the second quarter.
With 1:13 left in the third quarter, Booker and Daniels exchanged shoves after Booker was called for an offensive foul. After review. Each player was assessed a technical foul.
NEXT
Timberwolves: At Portland on Tuesday night.
Suns: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.