{"id":695589,"date":"2026-04-03T08:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/695589\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T08:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:33:40","slug":"portland-trailblazers-defeat-new-orleans-pelicans-118-106","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/695589\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland Trailblazers Defeat New Orleans Pelicans 118-106"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=New+Orleans%2C+LA&amp;city=New+Orleans&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Portland+Trailblazers+Defeat+New+Orleans+Pelicans+118-106&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fla%2Fnew-orleans%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Fportland-trailblazers-defeat-new-orleans-pelicans-118-106%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cf5ef6f1cf9.jpg\" alt=\"An abstract painting in vibrant neon colors, with loose, expressive brushstrokes capturing the energy and intensity of a basketball game, without any clearly defined figures or details.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>The Trailblazers&#8217; high-octane offense proved too much for the Pelicans to handle in this thrilling early-season clash.New Orleans Today<\/p>\n<p>The Portland Trailblazers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 118-106 in a high-scoring NBA matchup. Trailblazers star Damian Lillard led all scorers with 35 points, while Pelicans forward Zion Williamson had 28 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>This game was an important early-season clash between two teams expected to contend for playoff spots in the Western Conference. The Trailblazers&#8217; win over the Pelicans demonstrates their ability to win on the road against a talented opponent.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>The Trailblazers jumped out to an early lead and maintained control throughout the game, leading by as many as 15 points. In addition to Lillard&#8217;s scoring outburst, Portland got double-digit contributions from Anfernee Simons (18 points) and Jusuf Nurki\u0107 (14 points, 13 rebounds). The Pelicans kept the game close thanks to strong performances from Williamson and CJ McCollum (22 points), but ultimately could not overcome Portland&#8217;s balanced attack.<\/p>\n<p>      The game was played on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cWe knew this was going to be a tough game against a really good team, but our guys stepped up and made the plays we needed to get the win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Chauncey Billups, Head Coach, Portland Trailblazers<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cWe just couldn&#8217;t get enough stops down the stretch. Lillard was hitting some tough shots, and we couldn&#8217;t match their scoring output.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Willie Green, Head Coach, New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>The Trailblazers will look to build on this road win when they take on the defending champion Golden State Warriors on April 5th. The Pelicans will try to bounce back in their next game against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 7th.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>This game showcased the high-powered offenses of two Western Conference contenders. While the Trailblazers were able to get the better of the Pelicans this time, these two teams could very well meet again in the playoffs, setting up an exciting postseason matchup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Trailblazers&#8217; high-octane offense proved too much for the Pelicans&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":695590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,6,478,470,4073,4072,675],"class_list":{"0":"post-695589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-pelicans","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanspelicans","14":"tag-pelicans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116339858340196266","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}