The New Orleans Pelicans suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday after losing 125-103 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Pelicans struggled on the field, especially behind the line, as they trailed most of the game. Even the small ball lineup was no match for the Blazer on the boards.

In his second game of the season, Zion Williamson continues to brush off some rust from his game early in the year. Portland did a great job pressuring the Pelicans star, which ultimately slowed him down. He finished the day with 14 points, but most of them came from the free throw line. He was just 3 of 12 from the field.

Former Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum had a great trip back to the Moda Center this weekend. He scored 20 points in the first game on Friday and continued the strong performance on Sunday. He opened with nine points in the first quarter and 15 at halftime.

He continued to shine throughout the game and was the Pelicans’ best player on the court Sunday as he finished the day with 27 points. McCollum played 36 minutes more than any other New Orleans player in the contest.

Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram had near triple-double numbers on the day as he contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Jordan Hawkins had a breakout performance in the first game in Portland on Friday and was also a big asset off the bench in the away series finale in Portland. There were a few times in the first half where he made questionable decisions to pass the ball to his teammates on incoming passes, which resulted in turnovers. Ultimately, he played 34 minutes off the bench and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Unlike Friday’s road game against the Blazers, the Pelicans started strong in Sunday’s contest. The team started the game with an 8-0 run and was able to secure a block and a steal in the few minutes of play.

However, the pace didn’t last long. Before the first quarter ended, Portland had a seven-point lead at one point. Trail Blazers center DeAndre Ayton started the game strong with nine points and six rebounds in the first frame. Very close to achieving a double-double already.

The Pelicans struggled from beyond the arc in the first half, going just 1 for 13 from three. These issues and the deficit in the rebounding game resulted in the team being down 12 points heading into the locker room.

The number of points increased again in the third quarter at the start of the second half, just like in the first game of the series. However, this also applies to Portland. They went scoreless for the third straight quarter as they trailed by 16 points heading into the final 12 minutes.

New Orleans’ small-ball lineup couldn’t do enough in the final quarter to erase the earlier deficit. The Pelicans managed just eight three-pointers on 29 attempts, their worst from behind the line this season.

New Orleans continues its journey to the West Coast, traveling south to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors. The team will play two straight games at Chase Center, with the first coming on Tuesday. Tipoff for the opening game against the Warriors is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET.