The New Orleans Pelicans have been surging of late, winning four in a row entering Sunday to climb solidly into the 10th and final play-in position in the West, two games ahead of Portland.
Leading the way for the Pelicans are Brandon Ingram and trade deadline acquisition CJ McCollum, who have become a terrific 1-2 scoring punch early in their partnership. With Zion Williamson finally making some positive progress in his rehab from foot surgery after a few setbacks, there’s real optimism in New Orleans about this team having a puncher’s chance to snag a playoff spot in the play-in tournament.
Ingram’s growth as a player this season has been particularly notable, as he’s taken serious strides in being a better facilitator and offensive engine, not just serving as a bucket-getter, but as a table-setter for his teammates, posting a career-best 5.5 assists per game. Still, he’s a terrific scorer and sometimes buckets just find him, as happened at the end of the first half in Denver as New Orleans was trying to claw back into the game after a dreadful start.
After getting stripped near midcourt, Ingram fumbled around and finally was able to pick up the ball as the clock ticked towards zero and literally flung the ball, hook shot style, towards the rim. Somehow, he found nothing but net.
hook shot at half court? yeah why not pic.twitter.com/tRosg2L0Bw
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 7, 2022
The smile at the end tells the whole story as it is one of the funniest successful shots you will ever see on an NBA court. Ingram and the Pelicans will welcome the found money, as it got them three points closer to the Nuggets at the break.