NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Jeremiah Fears set a Pelicans rookie record for points in a game with 40, and New Orleans snapped an eight-game losing streak Tuesday (April 7) with a 156-137 rout of the Utah Jazz.
Fears, the seventh overall pick in the draft, shot 17 for 29 from the field and 1 for 7 from 3-point distance in the Pelicans’ home finale at the Smoothie King Center.
Jordan Poole scored 34 points, including 22 in third quarter, when New Orleans set a franchise record for points in a period with 50. The Pelicans also set a franchise record for points in a game, despite playing without resting starters Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey.
While Murphy (right ankle) and Murray (bruised left hand) were injured, Williamson, Jones and Bey were all active, but were left on the bench for New Orleans’ final home game of a second-straight non-playoff season.
Poole, who has spent more than half the season on the bench, shot 7 of 16 from 3-point range in his seventh start for New Orleans.
Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins blocks the shot of Utah Jazz guard Kennedy Chandler during New Orleans’ home finale Tuesday (April 7) at the Smoothie King Center. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)(Matthew Hinton | AP)
Rookie Micah Peavy scored a season-high 20 points, 2023 first-round draft choice Jordan Hawkins added 25 points for New Orleans and 2025 first-rounder Derek Queen (13th overall) had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Pelicans finished with a franchise-record 90 points in the paint.
Veteran center Kevin Looney also started for just the seventh time this season and finished with 12 rebounds.
Kennedy Chandler scored 31 and Cody Williams scored 26 for Utah, which lost its 10th straight and for the 14th time in 15 games. Brice Sensabaugh, who was averaging 25.7 points in his previous 10 games, finished with 18 points.
Bez Mbeng, a first-year player out of Yale playing in his 13th game, added a personal-best 26 points and John Konchar had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
New Orleans’ previous record for points in a game by a rookie was 37, set by Marcus Thornton in 2010. The club’s previous high-scoring game was 153 points, also against Utah in January 2024.
The Pelicans conclude their season with a two-game road trip to Boston (Friday) and Minnesota (Sunday).
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