The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 123-104, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday.

The Pelicans (17-12) got off to a strong start and didn’t waste time to defeat a shorthanded Cavaliers (16-13) team despite playing on the road. New Orleans quickly raced to a 36-28 lead in the first quarter, and while Cleveland fought back at times, the Pelicans never looked back. By halftime, the Cavaliers were up by 14 points and holding a sizable lead. Cleveland attempted to make things closer in the second half, and every time the Cavaliers approached, the Pelicans responded. New Orleans won the third quarter by a 28-24 score, and they also won the final 12 minutes by a 29-28 margin. With the win, the Pelicans move to 8-7 when playing on the road, while the Cavaliers fell to 9-7 at home. Undoubtedly, the Cavaliers paid the price for being down three starters. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers were impressive in shooting the ball from deep after connecting on 42.9 percent of their shots from three-point range.

Trey Murphy III led the way for the Pelicans with 28 points, four rebounds and three assists. C.J. McCollum delivered 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Brandon Ingram posted 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jonas Valanciunas recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and five dimes. Naji Marshall was impressive off the bench and posted 14 points, six rebounds and three assists across 22 minutes.

Dean Wade led the way for the Cavaliers with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Isaac Okoro recorded 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. Jarrett Allen notched 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Max Strus had 13 points, five assists and three rebounds. Georges Niang ended with 11 points off the bench.