The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Memphis Grizzlies 135-134 in overtime on Monday, November 2, 2026, ending the last unbeaten start in the NBA in the most dramatic way possible. Jeremiah Fears sank two free throws in the closing moments of overtime at FedExForum, after Zion Williamson had carried New Orleans through the extra period, to hand Memphis its first defeat of the season and complete a remarkable turnaround for a Pelicans team that had started the campaign 0-4.

Key Points

• Final score: New Orleans Pelicans 135, Memphis Grizzlies 134, in overtime at FedExForum in Memphis on Monday, November 2, 2026.
• Jeremiah Fears hit the winning free throws late in overtime, finishing with 12 points on a night when New Orleans went 25 of 30 from the line.
• Zion Williamson scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, including nine of New Orleans' 11 overtime points.
• Ty Jerome scored a game-high 40 points for Memphis, including all nine points in a late regulation run that forced overtime.
• Memphis fell to 6-1, ending a franchise record-matching six-game winning streak to open the season; New Orleans improved to 3-4 with a third straight win.

What Happened

New Orleans led for much of the night, and for the whole of the fourth quarter, before Memphis produced one of the great late comebacks of the young season. The Pelicans led 124-115 with 2:36 remaining in regulation after a three-pointer by Karlo Matkovic, which closed Matkovic's scoring at 25 points, matching Williamson for the team high. At that point, a comfortable road win looked certain. Then Jerome took over.

Jerome scored the final nine points of regulation for Memphis, single-handedly accounting for a 9-0 run that tied the game at 124-124 and sent it to overtime. It was a remarkable individual sequence, and it turned a game that had seemed lost into a contest Memphis believed it could still win. New Orleans had led by nine points with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, yet suddenly the home crowd was alive and the Grizzlies had all the momentum.

Overtime belonged, at first, to Jerome as well. He scored eight of Memphis' 10 points in the extra period, and with 18.8 seconds left he drove to the basket, converted a three-point play on a layup at the rim, and put the Grizzlies ahead by one point. The building expected a seventh straight win. Instead, the Pelicans found one more answer.

That answer came from a second-chance play. With New Orleans trailing by a point, Williamson tried to muscle up a jumper under pressure. Saddiq Bey came up with the rebound but had the ball poked free, and Fears was on the spot to gain possession and get up a shot while taking contact from Jaylen Wells. Fears calmly sank both free throws, the only New Orleans points in overtime not scored by Williamson, and Memphis could not score on its final possession, when Jerome's contested jumper was no good.

Pelicans Beat Grizzlies: How New Orleans Held Its Nerve

Williamson's overtime performance was the foundation. He scored nine of the Pelicans' 11 overtime points, attacking the basket and drawing the defence toward him, and his missed jumper on the final meaningful possession still created the scramble that produced Fears' winning free throws. That is the value of a star player in a close game: even when his shot does not fall, his gravity creates the next chance.

The supporting cast mattered just as much. Matkovic matched Williamson with 25 points, including the three-pointer that had seemed to seal the win in regulation. Derik Queen came off the bench for 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and he had been difficult for Memphis to guard all night, helping to put Grizzlies centre Zach Edey in foul trouble. Trey Murphy III and Bey each scored 18 points, giving New Orleans six players in double figures. When a team gets that kind of spread, one cold stretch from one player does not end its night.

Background and Context

New Orleans, by contrast, had started 0-4 and looked like a team searching for its identity. The Pelicans have now won three in a row, including this win without starting guard Dejounte Murray, who missed the game for personal reasons and has now missed the last two games, both of which New Orleans has won. The Pelicans' record now stands at 3-4, a modest mark that looks very different after a win like this one.

Reactions

For New Orleans, the reaction was about resilience. A team that had lost its first four games has now beaten the league's last unbeaten team on its own floor, in overtime, after losing a nine-point lead and then falling behind in the extra period. Wins like that change a locker room's belief faster than any number of comfortable victories, and they give a young core, led by Williamson and Fears, a shared memory to draw on in the next close game.

Why It Matters

This result matters beyond one night in November because it resets the early-season narrative for both teams. Memphis is no longer unbeaten, and the questions that come with a first defeat, about depth, about late-game execution, about how a young team handles adversity, now arrive for a Grizzlies side that had avoided them for six games. At 6-1, Memphis remains one of the best teams in the West, but the aura of invincibility is gone.

What Happens Next

Memphis returns to action at home against the Indiana Pacers on November 4, a chance to start a new winning streak immediately and to show that Monday was a blip rather than a pattern. New Orleans hosts the Utah Jazz on the same night, with a chance to extend its winning run to four games and to move back toward .500. Both teams will take lessons from Monday: Memphis, that a nine-point deficit can be erased but a one-point lead must be protected; New Orleans, that a lead can be lost and still regained.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the final score of Pelicans vs Grizzlies?

New Orleans won 135-134 in overtime at FedExForum in Memphis on Monday, November 2, 2026.

Who scored the winning points for New Orleans?

Jeremiah Fears sank two free throws late in overtime to give the Pelicans a one-point lead they did not relinquish.

How many points did Ty Jerome score for Memphis?

Jerome scored a game-high 40 points, including nine points to end regulation and eight of Memphis' 10 overtime points.

What are the teams' records now?

Memphis fell to 6-1, ending a six-game winning streak to open the season; New Orleans improved to 3-4 with a third straight win.

Who led the Pelicans in scoring?

Zion Williamson and Karlo Matkovic each scored 25 points; Williamson also grabbed 11 rebounds and scored nine overtime points.

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