Brandon Ingram scored 10 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Pelicans finished with six players in double figures to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 115-110.
Coming off an 18-point loss to the defending champions yesterday, the Zion-less Pelicans bounced back with this much-needed win on the second night of a back-to-back.
For more on this game from Charlotte, here are the biggest takeaways:
MIP frontrunners duel
Both these teams have one player each, who is making a serious case for the top spot in the Most Improved Player Award race.
Ingram, for the Pelicans, has started the season on fire. Here's a look at home much better his numbers are from last season:
| PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | |
| 2018-19 | 18.3 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 49.7% |
| 2019-20 (9 games) | 25.9 | 7.3 | 3.9 | 53.7% |
The improvement is quite obvious and substantial. His 25.9 season average includes eight games of 25 points or more including a career-high of 40 in Brooklyn.
In this game, he also recorded nine rebounds and four assists and shot an efficient 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point land.
For the Hornets, it's reserve Devote' Graham.
Going purely by a numbers improvement, Graham would be the league frontrunner. Here's our his averages have spiked through this young season so far:
| PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | |
| 2018-19 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 34.3% |
| 2019-20 (9 games) | 17.8 | 4.0 | 7.3 | 41.1% |
Graham's career numbers have included some monster performances, including 35 points against the Indiana Pacers or dishing out 12 assists against the LA Clippers.
In this game, he finished with a double-double of 24 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.
Yes, the season is young but these two players are definitely among the frontrunners in the MIP race.
Pelicans overcome turnovers with efficient shooting
Both teams combined for 48 turnovers with the Pelicans committing 26 of them. Despite that high number, the Pelicans came out on top in this one by making more shots in fewer attempts.
In a game that featured 48 turnovers, 26 from the Pelicans
Despite committing 26 turnovers, the Pelicans came out on top thanks to an efficient night shooting the ball.
New Orleans shot 40-of-75 (53.3%) from the field and 14-of-33 (42.4%) from beyond the arc, far better than the hosts, who shot 36-of-88 (40.9%) from the field and 12-of-35 (34.3%) from long distance.
Both teams had all their starters score in double figures but the Pelicans' first five outscored their counterparts 84-62.
Pelicans' JJ Redick finished with a useful 22 points on 5-of-9 shooting from distance and a game-high +15 in his 29 minutes of action.
