Agbaji and Battle rain down 3s as the Raptors beat the hapless Pelicans 119-93

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ochai Agbaji and Jamison Battle each scored 24 points, and the Toronto Raptors won on the road for the first time this season, 119-93 over the hapless New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

Djounte Murray returned from a fractured left hand that sidelined him for 17 games and looked rusty early. He finished with 14 points, but missed all seven of his first-half shots and shot 5 of 17 overall as the Pelicans lost their sixth straight game and 15th out of 17.

CJ McCollum scored 19 points in his second game since returning from an adductor strain and missing 13 contests.

RJ Barrett had 22 points and 11 assists for Toronto, which came in 0-10 on the road. Scottie Barnes added 17 points for the Raptors, who hit a season-high 21 3s.

Agbaji went 6 of 7 from 3-point range and Battle went 6 for 8.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who played without starters Zion Williamson (left hamstring), Brandon Ingram (right calf) and Herb Jones (right shoulder), as well as prominent reserve Trey Murphy III (left knee bruise).

Takeaways

Raptors: Toronto’s 21 made 3s were their most since January 2021.

Pelicans: Coach Willie Green went with a relatively small starting lineup. After 6-foot-11 center Yves Missi, the 6-6 Boston was New Orleans’ next-tallest starter, followed by Murray (6-5), Javonte Green (6-4) and McCollum (6-3). The Pelicans went 11 of 35 from deep.

Key moment

After assisting on Agbaji’s alley-oop layup, Barrett scored eight straight points on two free throws and three layups, sparking a 16-2 run that put Toronto up 79-53.

Key stat

Toronto shot 21 of 52 (40.4%) from 3-point range after coming in last in the NBA in made 3-pointers with 10.4 per game.

Up Next

The Raptors play at Miami on Friday night, when the Pelicans visit Memphis.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA