NEW ORLEANS – Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 131-122 on Wednesday night, opening 9-0 for the first time in their 55-year NBA history.

Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each added 16 points and Allen grabbed 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers surpassed an 8-0 start by the 1976-77 team that finished 43-39 under coach Bill Fitch.

Zion Williamson returned after a two-game absence and scored 29 points for the Pelicans. He temporarily switched himself off after 10 minutes of play, but returned at the start of the second half and scored 23 goals after halftime.

Jose Alvarado hit all seven 3-pointers he made and finished the game with 27 points for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram added 20 points for the Pelicans, who have lost three straight and six of seven.

Takeaways

Cavaliers: Cleveland had no trouble recovering from an early 12-point deficit from the road, doing so by shooting 54.2% overall, including 48.6% from 3-point range.

Pelicans: The injury-depleted Pelicans played at full strength, but simply lacked the firepower necessary to keep up with the hottest team in the NBA for a full 48 minutes.

Key moment

After Alvarado's back-to-back threes made the score 112-106, Mitchell responded with a hesitant move in the lane and a floater to make the score 114-106 and halt the Pelicans' momentum with 5:20 left. Cleveland kept New Orleans at bay from then on.

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Cleveland scored 50 points from the reserves, led by LeVert and Ty Jerome (11 points).

Next

The Cavaliers play at home on Friday against the Golden State Warriors, who had the best start in NBA history at 24-0 in the 2015-16 season.

The Pelicans visit Orlando on Friday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba