Deni Avdija scores 26 as the Trail Blazers down the Pelicans 119-100

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Deni Avdija scored 26 points, Shaedon Sharpe added 21 points and the Portland Trail Blazers led wire to wire in a 119-100 victory over the struggling New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

New Orleans played without power forward Zion Williamson, who was held out as a precaution after coming back from a left hamstring strain a night earlier. Brandon Ingram (left ankle) missed his 14th straight game.

Anfernee Simons scored 17 points and Toumani Camara 15 for Portland, which led 75-42 at halftime and cruised from there. Deandre Ayton scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Blazers, who shot 54.5% (48 of 88).

CJ McCollum scored 23 points and Dejounte Murray 20 for New Orleans, which has lost 22 of its last 25 games.

Pelicans forward and top defender Herb Jones left the game in the third quarter because of a right shoulder injury. He missed 18 games earlier this season with a similar injury.

Trail Blazers: There have been signs of improvement lately. The Blazers (13-23) have won four of seven, with two of the losses in that span by single-digit margins. Portland has scored 103 or more points in 11 of 12 games.

Pelicans: One night after looking competitive against Minnesota — albeit with Williamson in the lineup — New Orleans looked lethargic, disjointed and at times disinterested enough to elicit boos from the sparse home crowd.

For all practical purposes, there was no pivotal juncture in this wire-to-wire drubbing. The Blazers built a 16-point lead in the first quarter and were never threatened.

Portland shot 67.4% (31 of 46) through the first 24 minutes, when their 75 points set a season high for a first half.

The Trail Blazers visit Dallas on Thursday night. The Pelicans visit Philadelphia on Friday night.

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Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, below, and New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins battle for a loose ball in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) goes to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi and forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) goes to the basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) goes to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) drives to the basket between New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) and guard CJ McCollum (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) passes around New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Javonte Green in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) goes to the basket between New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) and center Yves Missi in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe goes to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) is fouled by New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) as he drives to the basket in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.

The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief. Demand for eggs is typically elevated until after Easter, which falls on April 20.

Industry experts were expecting the index to reflect a drop in retail egg prices because wholesale egg prices dropped significantly in March. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline even though prices started to fall at the end of the month. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices.

Bird flu outbreaks were cited as the major cause of price spikes in January and February after more than 30 million egg-laying chickens were killed to prevent the spread of the disease. Only 2.1 million birds were slaughtered in March and none of them were on egg farms

The farms that had fall outbreaks have been working to resume egg production after sanitizing their barns and raising new flocks, but chickens must be about six months old before they start laying eggs. Thompson said those farms did not come back online as quickly as anticipated. In the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers, there were only about 285 million hens laying eggs nationwide as of March 1, down from 293 million the previous month. Before the outbreak, the flock typically numbered more than 315 million.

Trump tried to take credit for the lower wholesale egg prices the USDA reported in recent weeks. But experts say the president’s plan to fight bird flu by focusing on strengthening egg farmers’ defenses against the virus is likely to be more of a long-term help.

“I think there are lots of people who are looking to see the egg prices coming down because they wanted to call it a win. And I think it’s a loss for everybody. I think we all want to see egg prices come down,” Thompson said.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance both trumpeted the overall decline in inflation last month before most of Trump's tariffs took effect, but they did not directly address egg prices.

Earlier this week, Trump said the annual White House egg roll would use real eggs again this year despite the high prices. Egg farmers typically donate more than 30,000 eggs for the event.

But some consumers are already looking to plastic eggs to color for Easter to avoid the high prices.

U.S. egg prices did began falling in mid-March, according to Datasembly, a market research company that tracks prices at thousands of stores. Datasembly said eggs averaged $5.98 per dozen the week beginning March 16 and dropped to $5.51 the week beginning March 30.

But prices vary widely around the country, depending on the location of recent bird flu outbreaks and some state laws requiring eggs to be cage-free. At a Safeway in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, cage-free eggs were $9.99 per dozen. At a Safeway in Denver, the same cage-free eggs were $6.69 per dozen. And at a Safeway in Washington D.C., which doesn’t require eggs to be cage-free, a dozen eggs were $5.29. In Omaha, Nebraska, Walmart is selling eggs for $4.97 per dozen.

Egg prices are still expected to decline further later this spring, but the latest numbers could also increase scrutiny of Cal-Maine Foods, which provides 20% of the nation’s eggs, and other large egg producers.

Earlier this week, Cal-Maine acknowledged it is being investigated by the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice, which is looking into egg price increases. Cal-Maine said it is cooperating with the investigation.

In its most recent quarter, which ended March 1, Cal-Maine said its net income more than tripled to $508.5 million compared to the same period a year ago. The company said its revenue nearly doubled to $1.42 billion, largely because of higher egg prices.

Since the current bird flu outbreak began, more than 168 million birds have been slaughtered, most of them egg-laying chickens. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. That can have an effect on the egg supply because massive egg farms may have millions of birds.

The disease is difficult to control because it is spread easily through the droppings of wild birds that carry the avian flu virus. Bird flu has also inflected other animals, including dairy cattle.

Egg prices hit $5.90 in February one month after setting a record at $4.95 per dozen, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But shoppers encountered prices much higher than that in some places; in California, the price per dozen topped $12 in some stores.

Earlier in the outbreak, egg prices spiked to hit $4.82 in January 2023 before gradually falling as low as $2.04 per dozen in August 2023. Generally, prices have since increased steadily.

Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.

Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

FILE - Cartons of eggs sit on a shelf in a Walmart store, March 10, 2025, in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

FILE - A carton of eggs sit on a counter in the kitchen inside of 5 Rabanitos restaurant in Chicago, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)