Wizards vs. Pelicans final score: Porter scores season-high 29 points in 124-114 win

The Wizards are back in the win column after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, 124-114 on Saturday night.

Otto Porter was fantastic, scoring 16 of his season high 29 points in the first quarter alone. For the game, he shot 12-of-15 from the field and also added seven rebounds and four assists in the win.

The Wizards were in control for most of this game, though the Pelicans did take a lead during significant parts of the third quarter and were leading 94-92 with 11:22 left in the game and down 106-104 with 7:11 left in the game. However, the Wizards were able to make a big run and to take a ten-point lead with 2:48 left.

In addition to Porter, John Wall and Bradley Beal also added 22 and 18 points, respectively, in the win. For the Pelicans, Julius Randle scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Nikola Mirotic added 24 points and nine rebounds.

Here are some takeaways from Saturday’s game.

The Wizards took advantage of Anthony Davis’ absence

The Pelicans post was out due to a hip injury. Washington took advantage of Davis’ absence, even without Dwight Howard (gluteal injury) by out-rebounding New Orleans, 45-43. Considering that the Wizards were poor rebounders to start this past season, this something they just had to take advantage of.

Markieff Morris continues to play well off the bench

Morris scored 15 points off the bench in 28 minutes on Saturday. Since last Tuesday against the Clippers, he has scored in double digits and made two three pointers in each game. He has come off the bench to be a spark for the second unit, and is so far adjusting quite well to this role while continuing to play at least 25 minutes per game. It will be interesting to see if this continues.

The bench as a whole is coming around

Morris had a great game, but Austin Rivers also added 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting on Saturday. Tomas Satoransky only scored two points in this game, but he too has played at least 15 minutes a game in each of the Wizards’ last four games and scored in double figures in two of Washington’s last four games. The “bench mob” is still a work in progress, but the unit looks like it’s in much better shape than it was at the start of this season.

Next Game

The Wizards host the Rockets on Monday, November 26 at 7 p.m. ET.