Team Stats (Pacers @ Pelicans) Final Score: 109-128 Rebounds: 42-49 Assists: 28-25 Blocks: 5-2 Steals: 7-6 Turnovers: 14-16 Stat Leaders (Pacers/Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Pascal Siakam, 22; Zion Williamson, 29 Rebound Leaders: Jay Huff, 6; Derik Queen, 10 Assist Leaders: T.J. McConnell, 8; Jordan Poole, 6 My Player of the Game: Zion Williamson Takeaways Zion Williamson came off the bench and scored 29 points in the Pelicans' fourth straight win of the season. The Pelicans only trailed for 17 seconds total in this game. Indiana began the third quarter with an 11-5 run to pull within 69-60. Williamson entered the game less than four minutes into the period and quickly scored seven straight New Orleans points to push the lead to 16. The Pelicans (7-22) will play the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. Monday in the Smoothie King Center. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

New Orleans Saints 29 - 6 New York Jets I really don’t have much to say about this one, except that everything feels like it’s going in the right direction for the Kellen Moo re-led New Orleans Saints. The offense still looked good with numerous starters out, Brandon Staley has the defense humming, and Charlie Smyth appears to be the answer to the long-term kicking issues. Considering where I and a lot of this fanbase felt about this team at the halfway point of the season, I think the Saints have significantly outplayed all expectations and have instilled hope into the city. Taysom Hill Taysom Hill fumbled on the first drive for the Saints, adding to a slew of ball control issues he has had this season. When that happened, I ended up texting my friends, “It’s time for the Saints to Old Yeller Taysom Hill”. Taysom Hill, if you are, for whatever reason, possibly reading this, just know I firmly retract that statement and appreciate how much you made me eat my own words. After the fumble, Taysom Hill ran for another 30+ yards, had 36 receiving yards, and even threw a touchdown bomb to Chris Olave on the last drive of the game. In this game, where everyone in the fanbase on X (Twitter) decided it was time for him to retire, he ended up having the most touches he’s ever had in a game and helped the Saints immensely on offense. I stand corrected on Taysom Hill no longer being able to be a threat, and I am happy that I was wrong. I wonder if he gets even more touches against the Titans next week, and if he can also have a similar performance against the Falclowns and potentially end his Saints career on a true high. In addition, this performance led to Taysom Hill being the only player in the NFL Super Bowl era to have 1000 yards passing, rushing, and receiving. This leads me to truly believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame as the greatest utility tool the league has ever seen, and I’m curious to see if he ever gets the chance at a gold jacket. Brandon Staley’s Defense I’m going to start this section by giving a huge shoutout to Cam Jordan. With his two sacks, he now has eight and a half sacks on the season and earned himself an extra $800,000 in incentives in this game. He has truly reemerged as a solid rotational piece for the pass rush, which leads me to hope he’s back for one more season as a Saint to compete for the divisional title next year. Another guy who has surprised me this season is Nathan Shepherd, who had a sack and forced fumble in this one. Although his box score numbers don’t look that great, defensive tackles’ (except for the all-pro level ones) performances are never really evaluated by those. He has played extremely well in the run game this season and has also provided a solid amount of pressure from the middle of the pocket. To no surprise, Chase Young had another great game and clutch sack, adding to his stellar season after an injury during training camp. If the Saints can hit in the draft on an EDGE or DT, this defensive line could be a spark for success next season. In addition to the defensive line, the secondary is playing at a much higher level than expected. Although they did play a Brady Cook-led offense in this game, it was great to see the young defensive backs deliver multiple strong performances as the season continues. Jonas Sanker had a great interception and pass breakup, Quincy Riley seemed to shut down receivers in his coverage, Kool-Aid McKinstry had a few good tackles, and Justin Reid really stepped up as a veteran presence. The secondary held the Jets to three yards per pass, exactly what you want to see against a poor offense that has been struggling to find anything successful. Demario Davis is still playing like an all-pro at the ripe age of 36. He has been shooting through gaps and blowing up running backs all season long, and he’s about to turn 37. If he can continue this level of play through the end of the season, I see no reason why the Saints should not confidently bring him back as a key piece of the defense next season. He is one of four linebackers in the NFL playing at his age, yet he is playing like some of the best linebackers in the league that are five or more years younger. He is simply nothing short of incredible. The Offense Tyler Shough led this offense to seven scoring drives, even though the team is missing numerous starters to injury. The two names everyone knew needed to step up with Devaughn Vele down, Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson, rose to the occasion with massive performances. Chris Olave had 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns, which is one of the best performances he’s had in his young career. In addition to these stats, he almost brought down another touchdown, although the defender was able to rip it away last second as they went to the ground. Juwan Johnson was also a huge contributor, finishing the day with eight catches for 89 yards. Shough and Johnson have formed a very solid connection, one that, if they can continue to build on, will be really fun to watch in the future. A lot of people, including myself, were skeptical about whether the extension was worth it after the rough start to the season by Johnson, but he has definitely ended those discussions. At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if the Saints got a deal with the contract. Tyler Shough eclipsed the 300 passing yard mark and almost reached 50 passing attempts, yet was able to keep the ball out of harm’s way throughout the game. If Tyler Shough finishes the season playing at this level, he will 100% be in contention for offensive rookie of the year. Offensive MVP: Chris Olave Defensive MVP: The Pass Rush Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH

The Saints have had a great past two weeks, but can they do it again and extend the win streak to three?

Team Stats (Rockets @ Pelicans) Final Score: 128-133 (OT) Rebounds: 58-41 Assists: 30-27 Blocks: 8-7 Steals: 6-15 Turnovers: 18-12 Stat Leaders (Rockets/Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Kevin Durant, 32; Saddiq Bey, 29 Rebound Leaders: Jabari Smith, 12; Derik Queen, 12 Assist Leaders: Alperen Şengün, 8; Jose Alvarado, 6 My Player of the Game: Saddiq Bey Takeaways Ahhhh oh my gosh there is so much to talk about from this game! The Pelicans were down 25 points in the third quarter and rallied back to force overtime and end up winning. James Borrego pulled off a masterclass in the second half of this game because in the first half, the team looked lost. Herb Jones was terrible offensively in the first half and absolutely amazing defensively in the second half. Saddiq Bey was incredible tonight on the offensive front; he didn't shy away from hitting the big shots. Zion Williamson did not play the fourth quarter or overtime. The Pels are on a three-game win streak. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Pelicans @ Bulls) Final Score: 114-104 Rebounds: 53-43 Assists: 21-26 Blocks: 5-5 Steals: 7-10 Turnovers: 14-13 Stat Leaders (Pelicans/Bulls) Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy III, 20; Coby White, 20 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 10; Nikola Vučević, 8 Assist Leaders: Derik Queen, 6; Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tre Jones, 5 My Player of the Game: Trey Murphy III Takeaways The Pelicans have won two games in a row! James Borrego has figured something special out with this team, and it's so fun to watch . For the first time in five years, Zion played his first minutes coming off the bench, and it was so good to see Z back on the court weeks ahead of schedule. New Orleans started off the third quarter on a 10-0 run and ended up winning by 10 points. This team is so talented with everyone playing an important role in games. The Saints won today so to have them win as well as the Pelicans was really good for the city. The Pelicans play their next two games at home on Thursday and Saturday. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

New Orleans Saints 20 - 17 Carolina Panthers Let me start by saying this is officially the happiest I have been as a Saints fan since the hot start the Saints had in 2021 with Jameis Winston. I felt great when the team started hot last season, but I also recognized what Derek Carr was for the organization: a placeholder. I don’t mean that as a slight to Derek Carr by any means, but the team needed to find a young and promising quarterback for the team to actually reset for the future. Well… that time has come with Tyler Shough beating the two top teams in the division in back-to-back weeks. Have the games been perfect? No, but I didn’t expect them to be with a rookie quarterback and a roster depleted of talent. That being said, as someone who doesn’t live in New Orleans, I have to imagine that the city is riding on a high tonight, and hopefully that continues into the offseason. With all of that being said, let’s break down the awesome performance by Tyler Shough and Co. Tyler Shough Shough has continued to improve every single week as a starter, and he seems to consistently take over in clutch moments. Against the Dolphins, he gave Olave a chance to win the game for the team, but it was dropped. Against the Bucs last week, he took over with his legs to take the lead in the fourth. This week, he once again showed up against the Panthers and delivered as perfect a pass as you will see in the NFL to Chris Olave against all-out pressure with Jaycee Horn in coverage. You cannot ask for more from this young rookie, and I will continue to be baffled if I don’t see all of the NFL pundits on ESPN and the other sports networks putting the word out there that Tyler Shough may be the guy for the Saints. Shough finished the night 24/32 for 272 yards and a touchdown, in addition to being the leading rusher of the day with 32 yards. Not only did he elevate this Saints offense, but he also did so even after Cesar Ruiz, Devin Neal, and Devaughn Vele went down. As much as I love Rattler, I can’t say that I believe he would have been able to overcome a similar situation. The Saints have their quarterback of the future, and now the question is, do they give him weapons or try to go and get pieces to make the defense more disruptive? In my mind, they should go and get Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, or Jeremiyah Love and do whatever it takes to see what Shough has in him in 2026. The Defense After allowing another opening drive touchdown in this game, the Saints’ defense has allowed the opposing team's offense into the endzone in five of their last six matchups. That being said, the defense has played well enough in these games to allow their offense chances to make plays to win games. I love what I am seeing for Chase Young, as he has exceeded all of my expectations since coming back from injury. He now has six sacks in the nine games he’s been healthy, and I can all but guarantee he’d have more if the opposing offenses had anyone else they had to worry about on the Saints’ defensive line. If the Saints do go defense to start the draft, Arvell Reese will be the obvious first choice, but I’m not sure they’ll be in the range to pick him. So instead I could see them going with Caleb Downs if they choose to go that side of the ball with their first, or instead wait to go defensive line with their second. I believe the Saints can wait to take a corner in this one, with Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid both showing they are at least average cornerbacks in the NFL. Yes, Quincy Riley did allow a touchdown in this one, but it was mainly because he tried to look for the football instead of simply playing the receiver after being beaten. This will quickly be coached up and is a common mistake you see made by cornerbacks across the league. In my eyes, the key to truly making this defense take another leap would be to fix the interior defensive line. Although they can somehow stop teams repeatedly in goal-to-go situations, opposing teams have found dominant success with inside run schemes. Once the team can fix that in the offseason or in the draft, this defense may find itself in the top half of the league for the foreseeable future. Kellen Moore If this game ended at halftime, I would once again be on here with numerous negative things to say about Kellen Moore. He made a bad challenge on the Panthers' first drive, he wasn’t aggressive to end the half, the offense started slow once again, and the penalties began to pop up, similar to earlier in the season. That being said, the game didn’t end at halftime, and Kellen Moore helped lead this team back in a divisional game, building more and more confidence for this team and what they’re building. Moore finally won his first challenge of the season, and his playcalling on the final two drives was textbook. He knew exactly how to take advantage of the clock and the Panthers’ “soft” defense, and was a major reason the Saints were able to win this game. If Kellen Moore can continue to build hope and make it look like he knows what he’s doing while navigating this roster in the middle of a rebuild, he’ll keep me in his corner. Let’s see what he does to start next week’s game against a Jets team that just let Trevor Lawrence look like he was back playing at Clemson The Irish Hammer I don't have too much to say, but a huge shout-out to Charlie Smyth for going two-for-two on the day with two 40+ yard field goals and a 47-yard game-winner to take down the divisional rival. Charlie Smyth is still developing, but it appears the Saints have found their kicker, and I'm excited to see when he gets the chance to break the new 67-yard field goal record. Cheers to the Irish Hammer. Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH

Team Stats (Trail Blazers at Pelicans) Final Score: 120-143 Rebounds: 419-57 Assists: 27-36 Blocks: 7-8 Steals: 5-10 Turnovers: 15-8 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Shaedon Sharpe, 21; Trey Murphy III, 24 Rebound Leaders: Kris Murray, 9; Yves Missi, Saddiq Bey, 8 Assist Leaders: Deni Avdija, 6; Derik Queen, 7 My Player of the Game: Derik Queen Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The Pelicans have won their fourth game of the season. Yay ! * Jordan Poole was back tonight and he made a world of difference. His three-point shooting, confidence, and leadership were a ton of help. * Derik Queen is a problem for all other 29 teams in this league. This kid has a vision that hasn't been seen in any recent rookies, especially for a center. * Bryce McGowens was the second-leading scorer in this game with 23 points. He's stepped up in a big way. * In surprising news, Zion Williamson is questionable for Sunday's game at the Chicago Bulls. This is the first time in what seems like years that Zion's health is actually improving much sooner than projected. Whether this is a sign of Zion pushing himself or James Borrego pushing him, it's nice to see. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.