James Borrego was looking for much better defense and he got it.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ interim head coach also got balanced scoring as lagniappe in his team’s 126-111 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Borrego emphasized before the game that the Pelicans’ fate rested primarily with defensive improvement over its 139-118 home loss to Milwaukee on Friday.
The first half wasn’t great as the Pelicans fell behind 65-57, but the second half was much better and the game turned on New Orleans’ 40-26 edge in the third quarter that led to a 69-46 second-half advantage.
“It was a full team effort,” Borrego said. “It was a great overall response from last night.”
Jordan Poole scored 23 points, Zion Williamson had 21, Saddiq Bey had 20, Herb Jones had 14, Bryce McGowens 13, Karlo Matkovic 12, Herb Jones 12 and Derik Queen 10 for the Pelicans (16-42), who will play the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Smoothie King Center.
“Poole was fantastic,” Borrego said.
Borrego’s search for improved defense included him inserting 6-foot-11 center DeAndre Jordan into the starting lineup alongside 6-10 Queen. Jordan had played in just two games this season, the last being his only previous start on Oct. 29 at Denver.
He responded with six points and 15 rebounds in 31-plus minutes. He had 11 rebounds in the first half, the first time he has had double-figure rebounds in a first half since Nov. 20, 2022.
“I have fresh legs,” Jordan quipped afterward.
“DeAndre raised everybody’s level,” Borrego said. “He was ready. He has been a total pro and he has elevated our program in so many ways.”
Tyrese Maxie scored 27, New Orleans native Kelly Oubre Jr. had 25, VJ Edgecombe had 14 and Quentin Grimes added 11 to lead the Sixers (30-26).
Bey scored 10 points as New Orleans began the third quarter with a 19-11 run to tie the score at 76. The score was tied twice more before Fears made two free throws and Matkovic added six points to give the Pelicans a 97-91 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Matkovic made one 3-pointer and McGowens and Poole made one each to help New Orleans expand the lead to 115-97 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Sixers scored the first eight points of the game, but Bey scored eight as the Pelicans heated up and grabbed a 14-11 lead. Philadelphia rebuilt the lead to seven before holding a 29-24 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The lead reached nine points as the Sixers scored the first four points of the second quarter, but Williamson scored eight points during a 19-8 run that gave New Orleans a 43-41 lead.
Oubre made two 3-pointers, Maxey had a 3-pointer and a three-point play and Edgecombe and Jabari Walker each had a three-point play as Philadelphia surged to a 65-57 halftime lead.