NEW ORLEANS, La. — The New Orleans Pelicans took control in the opening minutes Saturday night and never gave it back, beating the Atlanta Hawks 121-99 at Smoothie King Center for their second win in a row.
New Orleans built a 35-18 cushion after one quarter, took a 63-48 lead into halftime and was up 92-74 heading to the fourth. The margin reached 28 at one point.
Saddiq Bey, a former Hawk, did the most damage against his old team. Playing off the bench, he scored 25 points in 26 minutes and grabbed six rebounds.
Jeremiah Fears handled the point again with Dejounte Murray out, finishing with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III scored 15 apiece, and Williamson also had three steals.
The Pelicans reserves combined for 52 points. New Orleans shot 57 percent from the floor and made 28 of 35 free throws, offsetting 23 turnovers by turning 19 Atlanta giveaways into 34 points.
Atlanta struggled badly from deep, hitting only eight of its 46 attempts from 3-point range. The Hawks have now dropped four of their last five.
Atlanta guard CJ McCollum got 14 points in his return to the city. The Pelicans had dealt him to Washington in June 2025, and the crowd applauded as the team played a tribute video for him.
Late in the game, Hawks reserve Kingston Flemmings was ejected after drawing a technical foul for an elbow to Bryce McGowens, setting off a brief scrum.
New Orleans, now 2-4 after an 0-4 start, travels to Memphis on Monday night to face a Grizzlies team that came into the weekend unbeaten.
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