Williamson scores 37, Pelicans beat 76ers

NEW ORLEANS >> Zion Williamson scored 14 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-94 on Friday night.

Williamson scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and eight of the Pelicans’ first 10, extending an eight-point lead to 8671. He scored three more times after the 76ers pulled to 94-87 with 4:03 left.

Williamson was 15 of 28 from the field and added 15 rebounds and eight assists. Brandon Ingram added 17 points, but shot 5 of 21 in his first game back after missing five with a right foot injury.

Philadelphia, which missed an opportunity to tie Brooklyn for the best record in the Eastern Conference, tied a season low with 94 points.

Joel Embiid, who had scored 59 points in two games since returning from injury, had 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

His teammates struggled just as much as he did against the Pelicans, who had given up 123 points to Atlanta and 139 to Brooklyn in their last two games. Tobias Harris led the 76ers with 23 points, but no one other than him or Embiid had more than four field goals.

DOMINANT ‘D’

Coach Stan Van Gundy anticipated the Pelicans’ early struggle, lauding Philadelphia’s defense before the game.

“In my mind Ben Simmons is the best defender in the league,” he said. “Joel Embiid is an All-Defense type of guy. Danny Green has always been a really good defender. Dwight Howard was the Defensive Player of the Year for three straight years. They’ve just got some guys that make it really, really tough.”

TIP-INS

76ers: Embiid had his lowest points total since scoring nine against Miami on Jan. 14. … The 76ers went 11 for 31 on 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

76ers: At Oklahoma City on Saturday.