New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) attempts a dunk against Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) during the second of the basketball game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
Yes, James Borrego was thrilled to see his New Orleans Pelicans push their winning streak to four with [Saturday’s 128-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers.](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/9ef6ff46-6bbb-4909-bee6-cb4507d4b446/)
But the Pelicans’ interim head coach wants more.
“Pleased, but never satisfied,” Borrego said. “That's the mentality right now.”
The Pelicans had just one four-game winning streak last season.
Now they have a chance to make it five in a row Monday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks. A win would give the Pelicans their first five-game winning streak since the 2022-23 season.
Not even the 49-win team in 2023-24 reeled off five consecutive victories. They did put together six different four-game win streaks, though.
The Pelicans improved to 7-22 with Saturday’s win. The average margin of victory during the winning streak is 14 points.
“I’m pleased with the progress, and I’m pleased with these four games,” Borrego said. “I’m proud of the group. They are putting in the effort. This is not (the time) to pat ourselves on the back and be satisfied. That’s not the process we are talking about. The goal is that every day we are pounding the rock and getting better. Then on to the next challenge.”
The next challenge is a Mavericks team that has won seven of its past 10 games. The Pelicans and Mavs (11-18) split their first two games in Dallas. The Pels squeaked out a 101-99 victory in early November, but the Mavs got revenge two weeks later with a 118-115 win.
The Pelicans are coming off two of their more impressive wins. They rallied from a 25-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets on Thursday and followed that up with a win over Indiana, where they almost led wire-to-wire. The only time the Pelicans trailed was 4-3 early in the game. The Pelicans scored 44 points in the first quarter.
“You want to be a team when someone is in your house, you throw the first punch,” Borrego said after Saturday's win. “And we need to get there. We want to be a team that throws the first punch and keeps punching. I felt that today. We had a couple lighter blows, but we were in general trying to throw some punches that landed. In general, from start to finish, we did that.”
Zion Williamson, in his third straight game coming off the bench after returning from his injury, tied a season-high with 29 points in Saturday’s win. The game before that, it was Saddiq Bey with a season-high 29 against the Rockets. Last Sunday, it was Trey Murphy and Jeremiah Fears, each scoring 20 points, that put the Pels over the Chicago Bulls.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can make it happen,” Williamson said. “With the talent we’ve got, it can be anybody’s night.”
The four-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the NBA, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have won five straight heading into their game Sunday against the Washington Wizards.
“It’s not easy winning in the NBA,” Williamson said. “When you do get wins, you enjoy them for that night and go on to the next game.”
Monday's game is a chance for the Pelicans to do something they were unable to do the past two seasons.