Trail Blazers forward Dalano Banton takes advantage of exhausted Pelicans

The Portland Trail Blazers probably won't have many nights this season where a win seems all but inevitable.

But Monday night at the weakened New Orleans Pelicans was one of those nights, and the Blazers took advantage.

However, a lot of work was still necessary before the final result was achieved.

The Blazers survived a difficult first half and rode a hot fourth quarter from backup Dalano Banton to win 118-100 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

The Pelicans lost several key players, most notably Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum.

But they still had Brandon Ingram. He scored 16 points in the first half and helped the Pelicans to a 55-48 halftime lead. The Blazers shot 3 of 13 from three-point range in the first half and had seven turnovers.

In the third quarter, the Blazers shot 54.5% from the field, but still trailed 82-79 entering the fourth quarter.

At this point Banton came into the game for the first time and took over. In 12 minutes, Banton scored 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including 2 of 3 three-pointers.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said he turned to Banton to give him a boost on offense.

“I felt like we needed a little reinforcement on offense when I joined him at the start of the fourth quarter,” Billups told reporters. “And of course 20 points in a quarter is more than a shot in the arm.”

Banton's layup at 7:38 gave the Blazers a 90-89 lead. Two minutes later he scored again to make the score 98:91.

Banton's performance helped the Blazers shoot 75% from the field and 71.5% from three-point range in the quarter. Portland won the quarter 39-18.

Anfernee Simons led the Blazers with 24 points and Deandre Ayton contributed 19 points with 13 rebounds.

Ingram led the Pelicans with 27 points.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazers (3-5) would have had no excuse to lose to the Pelicans (3-5), who have Williamson (hamstring), McCollum (right adductor muscle strain), Herb Jones (right shoulder strain) and Trey Murphy III ( Right thigh muscle strain) and Dejounte Murray (left hand fracture).

Billups said he worries about playing against teams that rely on backups to replace starters because reserves who get a chance for extended minutes usually play with a lot of fire. And that happened early on.

“I was just proud that we were able to stay focused,” Billups said.

BANTON STRIKES AGAIN

This is the second game in a row where Banton has made a huge impact off the bench.

During Saturday's loss to the Phoenix Suns, Banton played almost the entire fourth quarter and scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting while making 2 of 4 three-pointers. He also added two assists and a steal.

That's 13 of 16 (81.3%) from the field through two games while scoring 32 points in 24 minutes.

ROBERT WILLIAMS III UPDATE

Backup center Robert Williams III was available for the first time this season on Monday but did not play.

Williams was sidelined after suffering a strain in his left hamstring before the start of preseason.

He missed 76 games last season due to a serious knee injury.

Next

The Blazers play at the San Antonio Spurs (3-4) on Thursday at 5 p.m.