The New Orleans Pelicans looked like they were on their way to an eighth consecutive home victory Saturday night.
Then came the fourth quarter.
The Pelicans went cold and the Cleveland Cavaliers heated up, outscoring the Pelicans 35-18 in the final period to take a 111-106 victory in the Smoothie King Center.
The Cavaliers made 13-of-25 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-10 3-pointers, in the fourth quarter while New Orleans made 5-of-16 and missed all five of its 3-pointers. Cleveland had a 19-5 rebounding edge in the final period to finish with a 55-40 advantage.
“We had good looks,” Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego said. “We had shots that could have and should have gone down. We missed layups, we missed free throws, we missed open 3s. The most frustrating thing to watch (on film) is going to be the rebounding. We’ve got to close that game out.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, James Harden, who finished with 10 assists, scored all 20 of his points in the second half, Evan Mobley scored 18, Sam Merrill had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Thomas Bryant scored 11 to lead the Cavaliers (44-27), who completed a sweep of their three-game road trip.
Zion Williamson scored 25 points (22 in the second half), Saddiq Bey had 19, Dejounte Murray had 12 points and 10 assists, Herb Jones scored 12 and Trey Murphy III added 10 for New Orleans (25-47), which begins a three-game road trip when it visits the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
“This one will sting tonight,” Borrego said. “We’ll get back to work tomorrow and go back on the road and do some damage on the road.”
Cleveland played without center Jarrett Allen (right knee tendonitis), who’s their second-leading rebounder (8.5) and third-leading scorer (15.3), and guard Jaylon Tyson (toe), who averages 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Williamson scored nine points, assisted on Bey’s 3-pointer and added a layup as New Orleans expanded its three-point halftime lead to 75-62 midway through the third quarter. Cleveland closed within eight points twice before Derik Queen scored four points and Jeremiah Fears two as the Pelicans held an 88-76 lead at the end of the period.
Williamson scored New Orleans’ first five points of the fourth quarter, and the lead grew to 95-84 before Harden scored the last five points of a 10-0 run that pulled the Cavaliers within 95-94.
Bey made two free throws and Murray scored on a drive as New Orleans maintained a three-point lead. But Murray’s basket was the Pelicans’ only one in more than six minutes and Cleveland had another 10-0 run to open a 106-99 lead with 1:57 remaining.
New Orleans got within four points twice, but couldn’t get a defensive stop either time, just two nights after outscoring the Los Angeles Clippers 18-15 in the fourth quarter of a 105-99 win.
Seven Cavaliers scored as they raced to a 31-18 lead. Yves Missi, who finished with 10 rebounds, scored on a put-back to start a 10-0 run for the Pelicans before Mitchell’s 3-pointer left Cleveland with a 34-28 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cavaliers pushed the lead to as many as 10 points twice in the second quarter before New Orleans finished strong. Murphy made a 3-pointer to tie the score and Bey broke the tie with a 3-pointer as the Pelicans took a 56-53 halftime lead after holding Cleveland scoreless for the final 2½ minutes.