Brandon Ingram Lauded for ‘Making the Leap’ as Pelicans Even Series with Suns

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The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is officially on alert in the first round.

Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans tied their matchup with the Phoenix Suns at two games apiece with a commanding 118-103 victory in Sunday’s Game 4. The Duke product finished with 30 points, five assists and four rebounds in his third straight performance with 30 or more points.

Whether it was his monster slam in the third quarter or the overall smoothness to his game, Ingram drew the attention of plenty of fans and commentators with his performance:

Yet a head-turning showing from Ingram wouldn’t be enough on its own for the Pelicans to defeat this Suns team even with Devin Booker sidelined by an injury. Enter Jonas Valanciunas, who finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and four assists while controlling the paint and providing New Orleans with an important source of secondary scoring.

Throw in the suffocating defense from rookies Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado, which helped hold Chris Paul to four points on 2-of-8 shooting, and the Pelicans are looking like a true threat instead of just a scrappy underdog.

The pressure will be squarely on the Suns as the series returns to Phoenix for Tuesday’s Game 5.