The NBA season is less than one-third over. But the New Orleans Pelicans’ unexpected ascension to the top of the Western Conference is noteworthy nonetheless.
The Pelicans, who started 3-16 last season, moved into the No. 1 position in the conference when they won for the ninth time in 11 games — beating the visiting Detroit Pistons 104-98 –and the Phoenix Suns were routed by the Boston Celtics 125-98 on Wednesday.
That gave New Orleans a half-game lead over the Suns, who will visit the Pelicans on Friday.
The Suns and Pelicans will meet again Sunday in a dynamic reminiscent of their Western Conference first-round playoff series last season. The eighth-seeded Pelicans gave the top-seeded Suns a battle before Phoenix won the best-of-seven series in six games.
New Orleans, which is fifth in the NBA in scoring (116.7 points per game), defeated the Pistons by allowing its third-fewest points in a game this season.
New Orleans has won its last five games even though second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram has been sidelined by a toe contusion that will keep him out of Friday’s game. Fellow starter Herbert Jones also will miss the game because of an ankle injury while sparkplug Jose Alvarado (rib) is questionable.
Phoenix, which is tied for second with Memphis, had maintained its spot atop the conference even while All-Star guard Chris Paul missed 14 games because of a sore heel. He returned Wednesday night, but the Suns were manhandled by the NBA-leading Celtics.
Boston led by as many as 45 points as Phoenix lost for the third time in four games.
The Suns missed all eight of their 3-point attempts as the Celtics took a 31-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. The deficit kept growing as Boston took a 69-42 halftime lead.
Josh Okogie came off the bench to score a career-high 28 points and lead Phoenix. He made 8 of 14 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. His teammates were 4 of 26 on 3-pointers.
The Suns beat the visiting Pelicans 124-111 on Oct. 28.
