CJ McCollum helps Pelicans win battle of NBA's most disappointing teams

McCollum scored 38 points and shot 13-of-24 as the shorthanded Pelicans beat the Sixers 123-115. He had 18 points in the first quarter and finished with six three-pointers as his team got their third win since Dec. 7.

New Orleans played without most of its usual starters. Zion Williamson was suspended for missing a flight, Herb Jones has a torn labrum and Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III were sidelined with ankle injuries. That meant the scoring burden fell on McCollum, who delivered against a Sixers team missing Joel Embiid for the 23rd time this season.

The Pels also got 21 points from Jordan Hawkins, including 10 in the final quarter.

Hawkins is in his third season and likely part of the Pelicans' future. McCollum is 33 with one year left on his contract beyond this one. With the win only bringing the Pelicans to 8-31, he's a likely trade candidate, whether it's before this year's deadline or in the summer.

McCollum is scoring 22.1 points per game and shooting 37.1 percent for a team that's provided little in the way of spacing or other offensive options. He's expensive at $33.3M this season, but his salary drops to $30.6M — high, but perhaps appealing for a contender who needs McCollum's scoring punch.

The Sixers dropped to 15-21 and 8-15 without Embiid on the court. Unlike the Pelicans, they're two games out of the play-in tournament, meaning their season still has hope if they can ever get healthy.

That's not the case for New Orleans, which has the NBA's second-worst record. McCollum's big performance might have been one of his last in a Pelicans uniform, but he made them a winner for one night.