Bey scores 25 off the bench as Pelicans beat Hawks 121-99

Saddiq Bey scored 25 points off the bench, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-99 at home on Saturday, October 31, after taking the first quarter 35-18.

Bey made 9 of 13 shots and 6 of 7 free throws, and added 6 rebounds and four steals in 26 minutes. Starter Jeremiah Fears scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and had 7 assists.

Atlanta, the favorite before tip-off, led only at 2-0 on the opening basket. New Orleans took control in the first quarter and reached its biggest margin, 28 points, on a Julian Reese tip shot with 2:26 left, 121-93.

Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson each scored 15. Williamson shot 5 of 8 and had four assists, one on Murphy's one-foot dunk with 3:04 left that made it 119-93.

Atlanta struggled from the perimeter. The Hawks made 8 of 46 threes. Nickeil Alexander-Walker missed all seven of his attempts and shot 3 of 12 overall, and Onyeka Okongwu missed all five of his threes and also shot 3 of 12, though he grabbed 10 rebounds.

CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and Jalen Johnson had 13 points and 7 rebounds.

The Pelicans shot 56.6 percent, outrebounded Atlanta 49-36 and got 52 bench points, six more than the Hawks' reserves, despite 23 turnovers.

Atlanta scored the last six points on a Aaron Wiggins turnaround jumper, two Asa Newell free throws and a Newell layup with 41.6 seconds left. Newell finished with 13 points off the bench. The Hawks fell to 3-4, the Pelicans improved to 2-4.

Up next

Hawks: at the Indiana Pacers on Monday, November 2.

Pelicans: at the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, November 2.