Pelicans win two straight with Jamahl Mosley’s new starting five and 33 steals, and take it to unbeaten Memphis: ‘That’s who we have to be night in, night out’

The New Orleans Pelicans lost their first four games of Jamahl Mosley’s first season by a combined 23 points, three of them by six or fewer. Then Mosley changed his starting lineup, and the close games stopped. New Orleans beat Sacramento 132-120 on Thursday and the Atlanta Hawks 121-99 on Saturday night, leading by double digits from late in the first quarter on.

At 2-4, the Pelicans now go to Memphis on Monday night to face the Grizzlies, the only unbeaten team left in the NBA at 6-0. Mosley wants the last two nights to travel. “The effort and the energy that our guys played with, that toughness that we’ve asked them to play with, that was closer to 48 of what it needs to look like,” he said.

"He hit all the clutch baskets at the right moment"

Coach Mosley on Saddiq Bey pic.twitter.com/xu72267fnT

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 1, 2026

The lineup that changed the start

For a second straight game, Mosley started Herb Jones and Karlo Matković alongside Jeremiah Fears, Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III. Neither Jones nor Matković had been in the first unit during the 0-4 start. Jones was plus-27 in his first start against the Kings and plus-14 against Atlanta, a plus-41 across the two games. Matković, the center who replaced DeAndre Jordan, had 8 points, 10 rebounds and two corner threes on Saturday, finishing plus-17.

Mosley said the starters were only half of it: the bench is “coming in with that same tenacity, that same focus, that same energy.”

The lineup has held together partly because of who is missing. Dejounte Murray sat out both wins for personal reasons; on Saturday he was taken off the injury report and then ruled out again before tipoff. Jordan Poole (ankle) and Yves Missi (knee) were also out. Whether the group survives their return is still open. “It’s going to be by committee,” Mosley said again.

Defense first, and 33 steals

The bigger change is at the defensive end, where Mosley has wanted a more aggressive team from the start. New Orleans had 18 steals against Sacramento, its most in a game in 10 years, then 15 more against Atlanta. Over the two games they forced 44 turnovers and turned them into 74 points. The Hawks went 8 of 46 from three, 17.4%, and Mosley pointed to contests rather than luck. “Our ability to protect the paint first is what we want to talk about, but then making sure we’re flying and contesting and impacting all shots,” he said. “Guys in this league are too darn good to just have wide open shots.”

Williamson is at the center of it. He had three more steals on Saturday, giving him 19 in six games; he led the league at 3.2 per game entering the night. Mosley said the steals come from position, not gambling, and that Williamson’s defense “is making the offensive side of the ball easier.” He added a detail from the game itself: “He comes up to me in the middle of the game and says, ‘You know, it might be beneficial if I’m a screener more than I’m handling.’ And that’s his IQ of knowing the game.”

Williamson credited the coaching staff, who “push me to be great on that end.” On leading the league: “It’s cool, but still early in the season. Ask me again around Game 20. If I’m still top five, then we’re doing good.”

Bey off the bench, Fears running it

Saddiq Bey, a former Hawk, scored 25 off the bench on 9-of-13 shooting with four steals in 26 minutes. “I look up and see Saddiq has 25 and I didn’t feel that he had 25,” Mosley said. “He hit all the clutch baskets at the right moment.” Williamson called Bey a player who “could score 20 every night, but he does what’s asked of him.” Bey kept his own answers short: “Can’t dwell on the past. Got to focus on Memphis next.”

Fears, the second-year point guard, had 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and seven assists, after 22 points and a career-high 13 assists against the Kings. Mosley said the staff has asked him to sort out “when are your moments of being aggressive” and when to set the table. “With Jeremiah’s speed and his ability to get downhill, I think that changes how they’re going to have to guard Z and him,” Mosley said.

Coach Mosley on Fears having 20 assists in the last two games pic.twitter.com/E3yVGSNzU8

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 1, 2026

What still needs fixing

Mosley did not call it finished. The Pelicans had 25 turnovers of their own, and he named that as the thing to clean up; Atlanta still scored 52 points in the paint. New Orleans also took only 17 threes, its fewest in a game since April 1, 2023, the team said. A late scrum, after Hawks guard Kingston Flemings was ejected for an elbow to Bryce McGowens, drew one more line from Mosley: “The ability that we have each other’s back in any moment is what’s most important about this team.”

CJ McCollum, back in New Orleans for the first time since he was traded in June 2025, got a tribute video and scored 14 for Atlanta. Williamson said he joked with his former mentor at the scorer’s table: “Come home, man.” How the run began on Thursday is in our story on Herb Jones’ first start.

What’s next

The Pelicans visit the Grizzlies on Monday, November 2, at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Tuesday, Cairo time), then return home to face Utah on Wednesday and Minnesota on Friday. “That’s who we have to be night in, night out,” Mosley said of the hustle plays. “And that’s the 48 minutes that you’re looking for.”