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)

A long-awaited La Nina has finally appeared, but the periodic cooling of Pacific Ocean waters is weak and unlikely to cause as many weather problems as usual, meteorologists said Thursday.

La Nina, the flip side of the better-known El Nino, is an irregular rising of unusually cold water in a key part of the central equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide.

The last El Nino was declared finished last June, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters have been expecting La Nina for months. Its delayed arrival may have been influenced — or masked — by the world's oceans being much warmer the last few years, said Michelle L'Heureux, head of NOAA's El Nino team.

“It’s totally not clear why this La Nina is so late to form, and I have no doubt it’s going to be a topic of a lot of research,” L'Heureux said.

But even as the temperature signature was late to arrive and small at that, L'Heureux said some of the effects across the globe have shown up and forecasters have made seasonal predictions based on La Nina conditions.

In the United States, La Ninas tend to cause drier weather in the South and West. They tend to make weather wetter in parts of Indonesia, northern Australia and southern Africa, L'Heureux said. They typically bring more Atlantic hurricanes in summer months, but L’Heureux forecast that this La Nina will have dissipated by the summer.

El Nino often leads to rainier weather in the United States, and tends to increase temperatures globally while La Nina has the opposite effect. Studies have found that La Nina droughts have been costlier than weather extremes linked to El Nino.

The last La Nina ended in 2023 after an unusual three-year stretch.

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FILE - People cover up from falling rain Dec. 24, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

FILE - Surfers catch waves in the Pacific Ocean off of Ho'okipa Beach Park, Nov. 22, 2024, near Paia, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)