The Duke basketball duo in New Orleans aims to stay healthy and build on the franchise's 49-33 record last season.

Williamson missed the team’s opener against the Chicago Bulls with an illness. “Right now, it’s some type of virus,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Something like that.” Without Williamson, the Pelicans were still able to topple the Bulls.

Turning the ball over 21 times is tough for any team to overcome, and the Bulls certainly couldn’t do so in their 2024-25 season opener Wednesday night Brandon Ingram scored 33 points and iced the game with a baseline turnaround jumper with 1:46 to go,

Not exactly the postgame reaction Bulls fans want to hear after the first game, but against a shorthanded Pelicans team playing without Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III, the Bulls assembled a sloppy offensive performance marred by 21 turnovers that led to 30 Pelicans points.

The Chicago Bulls failed to set a new tone in their season opener against the Pelicans in New Orleans on Wednesday, fumbling a 123-111 loss.