NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 24 points, Saddiq Bey added 23 against his former team and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the reeling Wizards 138-118 on Sunday night to extend Washington's losing streak to eight games.
Zion Williamson had 20 points and Dejounte Murray provided 19 for the Pelicans, who outscored Washington 72-44 in the paint.
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New Orleans Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey (41) intercepts a pass that was intended for Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) gets past Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) for a dunk in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones (2) attempts a reverse layup against Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (3) tries to make a move against New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan (6) pulls down a defensive rebound over Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives between Washington Wizards forward Leaky Black (14) and guard Bilal Coulibaly, right, for a layup in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) tries to drive past Washington Wizards guard Tre Johnson (12) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
Trae Young, playing his second game for the Wizards since being traded by Atlanta, had 17 points and eight assists in 18 minutes on the court. It was his 12th game all season.
Wizards rookie Tre Johnson scored 20 points — his fourth time reaching that total. Will Riley added 19.
New Orleans held a 67-65 lead after a tight first half, during which Washington made 10 3-pointers.
The Wizards trailed by four after Jaden Hardy's driving floater made it 95-91. But the Pelicans pulled away from there, starting with a 12-4 surge capped by a 3 from rookie Jeremiah Fears.
Drafted seventh overall last summer, Fears finished with 18 points and seven assists in 24 minutes off the bench. Fellow rookie Derik Queen scored 13 points.
The Pelicans won for the sixth time in nine games and matched last season's victory total of 21. Since starting 10-36, New Orleans has won 11 of 20.
Julian Reese, the brother of former LSU star Angel Reese, grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards.
Wizards: Visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
Pelicans: Host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
This story has been corrected to show the Pelicans have won six of nine, not eight of 11.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
New Orleans Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey (41) intercepts a pass that was intended for Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) gets past Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) for a dunk in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones (2) attempts a reverse layup against Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (3) tries to make a move against New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan (6) pulls down a defensive rebound over Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives between Washington Wizards forward Leaky Black (14) and guard Bilal Coulibaly, right, for a layup in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) tries to drive past Washington Wizards guard Tre Johnson (12) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
NEW YORK (AP) — Two men suspected of bringing explosives to a protest outside New York City's mayoral mansion were in custody Monday, as authorities probed whether the suspects were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, the police commissioner said.
No charges had yet been brought against the men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, but federal prosecutors and police planned a news conference later in the day. In the meantime, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a morning news conference that the explosives episode "is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” using an acronym for the Islamic State group.
Meanwhile, police searched a home in northeastern Pennsylvania's Middletown Township, and a separate federal investigation was underway in nearby Newtown, local police said. Both inquiries were related to the incident outside New York's mayoral residence, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, wrote in a social media post Sunday.
The homemade devices, which did not explode, were hurled Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office. Mamdani and his wife weren't at the house, called Gracie Mansion, at the time.
Speaking outside the residence Monday morning, Mamdani said Balat and Kayumi “traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.”
It wasn't immediately clear whether 18-year-old Balat or 19-year-old Kayumi have attorneys who can speak to the accusations. Attempts to reach their families were not immediately successful.
Tisch said there are no indications that the men's alleged activities were connected to the ongoing war in Iran. She declined to say more about why authorities believe the suspects were motivated by the Islamic State group, a Sunni extremist group. Iran’s population is almost entirely Shiite, the other main religious community within Islam.
While Mamdani and Tisch briefed reporters Monday, Lang heckled from outside the Gracie Mansion gates.
Lang's sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators, including one person who police say tossed a smoking object containing nuts, bolts, screws and a “hobby fuse” into the crowd.
The device extinguished itself steps from police officers, Tisch noted. The same person who threw it then dropped a second device that did not appear to ignite, the commissioner said.
The scene had grown chaotic even before the devices were thrown. Police said one person involved in the anti-Islam protest, Ian McGinnis, 21, was arrested after pepper-spraying counterprotesters. McGinnis, of Philadelphia, was released without bond after pleading not guilty Sunday to assault and aggravated harassment in a New York court, records show. A message seeking comment was left Monday for his attorney.
Three others were taken into custody but were released without charges.
After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Lang was charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes. He was later freed from prison as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency. Lang recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.
Earlier this year, he organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters who quickly chased him away.
This story has been corrected to reflect that police are now identifying one of the suspects by the name Ibrahim Kayumi, instead of Ibrahim Nikks. The headlines have been corrected to show Tisch referred to the possibility of the suspects being inspired by rather than related to the Islamic State group.
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York and David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference at Gracie Mansion, Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, left, walks out of Gracie Mansion with New York Police commissioner Jessica Tisch, second from left, to make an address at a news conference, Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
New York Police commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks during a news conference with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion, Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Jake Lang demonstrates outside Gracie Mansion after a news conference by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani , Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
In this image taken from video, law enforcement officers respond to Manhattan's Upper East Side as New York City's police said they had identified a "suspicious device in a vehicle,” Sunday, March 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Joseph B. Frederick)
Jake Lang shouts from a sidewalk as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference at Gracie Mansion, Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
New York Police commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks during a news conference with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion, Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
