March 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) watches the second half of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images The New Orleans Pelicans return from a six-game road swing and start the season 6-7 at home, starting with Sunday’s game against the Washington Wizards.
Washington begins a four-game road trip with a visit to the Big Easy looking to snap a seven-game losing streak after losing 122-112 at home to Utah on Thursday. This loss was notable in that it marked Trae Young’s debut in the Wizards lineup.
Young, a four-time All-Star and 2021-22 All-NBA honoree, was traded to the Wizards in January for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. In 19 minutes, Young finished with 12 points, six assists and two steals against the Jazz, but was held to just 5-for-5 from 3-point range in his first action since December.
Young said of his first meeting with Washington, “(I was) anxious all day and didn’t get much sleep.” “I was really looking forward to that day and shaking off some of the rust that must have been there from just missing months of basketball.”
Young had missed all but 10 games this season before Thursday due to a knee injury and was averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game when active at the time of the trade. Both games were his lowest since his rookie season.
With Young’s debut, Washington headed to New Orleans with positive momentum despite the slippage, and rookie Julian Reese had a historic performance.
Playing in his third NBA game, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese had 20 rebounds, joining Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only rookies to reach the milestone in their first five career games.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans finish 3-3 in their latest road swing, coming off a 118-116 loss at Phoenix on Friday.
“Overall, it was a pretty good trip. It could have been better,” New Orleans coach James Borrego said. “Probably two wins there, we had it slipping through our fingers. It’s a new group playing together and trying to find our way.”
One new look for the Pelicans has been the integration of Dejounte Murray into the lineup for five of the last seven games. Murray has scored at least 13 points in each outing, including 17 points, nine assists and four steals in a Feb. 26 win over Utah.
Murray joins a rotation that features Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson as pillars.
Murphy scored 22 points in Friday’s loss. It was his fourth contest since missing five games with a shoulder injury, and his third straight outing in which Murphy scored at least 21 points.
Murphy is currently on pace to finish 2025-26 with a career-high scoring average, scoring a team-leading 21.9 points per game.
Just behind Murphy is Williamson, who is averaging 21.5 points per game after scoring 19 points in Phoenix. Williamson also had 10 rebounds, his most since he pulled down 11 rebounds in a loss to Charlotte on Feb. 2.
The Pelicans remain in 13th place in the Western Conference, 10.5 games behind Portland for the final play-in spot as of Friday, but are above .500 at 5-4 since the All-Star break.
–Field level media
