Deadspin | Jeremiah Fears’ career-high 40 points lead Pelicans past Jazz 
Apr 7, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) shoots the ball against Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Rookie Jeremiah Fears scored a career-high 40 points and Jordan Poole added 22 of his 34 points in a decisive third quarter as the New Orleans Pelicans closed out their home schedule with a 156-137 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Rookie Micah Peavy scored a career-high 20 points, Jordan Hawkins added a season-high 25 and rookie Derik Queen had 17 points with 12 rebounds as the Pelicans ended an eight-game losing streak. Kevon Looney also had 12 rebounds.
Fears set a Pelicans franchise record for rookie points in a game as the Pelicans set a team mark for total points in a game.
New Orleans (26-54), which has been eliminated from playoff consideration, finished with a 17-24 home record.
New Orleans went 3-0 against Utah this season and won while playing without their four leading scorers in Trey Murphy III (ankle), Zion Williamson, Saddiq Bey and Dejounte Murray (hand). Williamson and Bey dressed but remained on the bench, as did Herbert Jones.
Kennedy Chandler scored a career-high 31 points and rookie Bez Mbeng added a career-best 26 for the Jazz, who lost their 10th consecutive game with two games remaining. Cody Williams scored 19 points and Brice Sensabaugh added 18 as Utah dropped to 3-22 since Feb. 12.
The Jazz (21-59), who are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, were without Lauri Markkanen (hip), Keyonte George (hamstring) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee).
The Jazz got off to a strong start, leading 34-24 after one quarter by making half of their 26 shots from the floor and their eight shots from 3-point range. Utah continued to hold a 69-61 lead at halftime.
Poole was the star of the third quarter by scoring his 22 points in the period on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. The Pelicans outscored the Jazz 50-27 in the quarter by shooting 72% while taking a 111-96 lead.
Fears was 17 of 29 (58.6%) from the floor in the game to better his previous season high of 28 points.
New Orleans shot 57.5% from the floor, tied for their second best in a game this season, while the Jazz shot 51%.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Jeremiah #Fears #careerhigh #points #lead #Pelicans #Jazz
Apr 7, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) shoots the ball against Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Rookie Jeremiah Fears scored a career-high 40 points and Jordan Poole added 22 of his 34 points in a decisive third quarter as the New Orleans Pelicans closed out their home schedule with a 156-137 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Rookie Micah Peavy scored a career-high 20 points, Jordan Hawkins added a season-high 25 and rookie Derik Queen had 17 points with 12 rebounds as the Pelicans ended an eight-game losing streak. Kevon Looney also had 12 rebounds.
Fears set a Pelicans franchise record for rookie points in a game as the Pelicans set a team mark for total points in a game.
New Orleans (26-54), which has been eliminated from playoff consideration, finished with a 17-24 home record.
New Orleans went 3-0 against Utah this season and won while playing without their four leading scorers in Trey Murphy III (ankle), Zion Williamson, Saddiq Bey and Dejounte Murray (hand). Williamson and Bey dressed but remained on the bench, as did Herbert Jones.
Kennedy Chandler scored a career-high 31 points and rookie Bez Mbeng added a career-best 26 for the Jazz, who lost their 10th consecutive game with two games remaining. Cody Williams scored 19 points and Brice Sensabaugh added 18 as Utah dropped to 3-22 since Feb. 12.
The Jazz (21-59), who are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, were without Lauri Markkanen (hip), Keyonte George (hamstring) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee).
The Jazz got off to a strong start, leading 34-24 after one quarter by making half of their 26 shots from the floor and their eight shots from 3-point range. Utah continued to hold a 69-61 lead at halftime.
Poole was the star of the third quarter by scoring his 22 points in the period on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. The Pelicans outscored the Jazz 50-27 in the quarter by shooting 72% while taking a 111-96 lead.
Fears was 17 of 29 (58.6%) from the floor in the game to better his previous season high of 28 points.
New Orleans shot 57.5% from the floor, tied for their second best in a game this season, while the Jazz shot 51%.
–Field Level Media
![Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/gettyimages-2183567424.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200&ssl=1 "Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier")
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