Last night at the Barclays Center in New York, the Brooklyn Nets’ backyard, the New Orleans Pelicans visited and came away with a 104-91 win, their third victory in a row. Thereby, condemning the Nets to their fourth consecutive loss.
Zion Williamson of the Pelicans led the player statistics chart with 28 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while shooting 11/16 (68.75%) from the field while playing 33 minutes. For the Nets, Cam Thomas racked up 25 points, three rebounds, and two assists but couldn’t stop the might of Zion and the Pelicans.Â
The night’s highlight was the 2019 NBA draft’s first overall pick, Zion Williamson, who displayed elite-level athleticism by slamming a two-handed dunk off Naji Marshall’s no-look overhead pass. The series started when Marshall picked off the pocket of Nets’ Cam Thomas, which led to a 2-on-1 situation resulting in the unstoppable alley-hoop by Williamson.Â
Coincidentally, the dunk is coming a day after the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards slammed home against the Utah Jazz, creating two contenders for Dunk of the Year. Good news for the Pelican fans: their star player looks fit and is roaring as the Pelicans aim for a solid finish to the regular season.Â
Zion Williamson leads the way as the Pelicans’ winning run continues
The New Orleans Pelicans are among the hottest in-form teams in the league at the moment, with a record of 4-1. Instrumental to that form has been their two-time NBA All-Star, Zion Williamson, who, according to reports, has lost substantial weight to be the player we all expect him to be.Â
New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson (image via Open Source/X)Williamson has averaged an impressive 29.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in his last five games. The Pelicans are giving the Western Conference a good show and are on the path of giving him his first playoff appearance.Â
The Pelicans are fifth on the hotly contested Western Conference standings and heavily breathing down the neck of the LA Clippers. Their emergence as a force can be down to the resurgence of Williamson, who took all the criticism leveled at him early in the season and used it as feedback to become the tsunami we hoped he would be. He is averaging 22.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this season.Â
