Zion's Return Sparks Pels To 112-91 Win Over Clippers
Following a shaky start, and in large part thanks to the return of Zion Williamson, the New Orleans Pelicans overcame an 11-point first half deficit and routed the Los Angeles Clippers 112-91.
Williamson, playing for the first time in a week, quickly shook of the rust on his way to putting up 21 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists and collecting his first double-double of the season.
In another strong team effort, the Pels had six players reach double figures in the victory.
CJ McCollum broke out of his long-range shooting slump by converting four of his eight three-point attempts on his way to a game-high 22 points.
Starting their third consecutive games, Naji Marshall (17 points, six boards, two steals) and Trey Murphy III (15 points, five rebounds) were both productive in extended minutes and Jonas Valanciunas added 11 points and seven rebounds in another efficient and effective performance.
Larry Nance Jr. was exceptional off the bench, nearly tallying a double-double of his own with 15 points and nine rebounds, while also quarterbacking the Pelicans' defense.
After the game, head coach Willie Green talked about how comfortable he was trusting in Williamson's as a playmaker and celebrated his team's ability to get everyone involved.
"The thing that we did today that I hadn't do a lot," said Green, "was we just put the ball in Z's hands at the top and he kind of played point guard for a bit during stretches of the game. We tried to take advantage of some of the mismatches."
New Orleans had 33 assists as a team with just 10 turnovers, completely taking the wind out of L.A.'s sails in transition.
The Clippers were led by reserve Norman Powell, who finished with 18 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
New Orleans outscored L.A. 94-66 over the final three quarters, including just 39 points in the second half, while limiting the Clippers to under 39 percent shooting.
It was a dominant performance for a team that needed the boost after a tough loss at Phoenix on Friday night.
It was also an impressive turnaround after a start that was less than ideal.
During the first quarter, things couldn't have gone much better for the Clippers while they couldn't have been much worse for New Orleans.
The Pelicans struggled to convert inside during the game's first 12 minutes as Williamson worked to get back into rhythm and Green's third different starting lineup got to know each other.
Meanwhile the Clippers, playing without starters Kawhi Leonard and Robert Covington, were turning the Pelicans miscues into fast break opportunities and just enough open looks to take a 25-18 lead after one.
But Zion got going in what was his best single quarter of the season as he controlled the offense as both a scorer and a passer and attacked the defensive glass.
Over the final 7:42 of the first half, New Orleans was able to turn an 11 point deficit into a tie game going into the break.
As expected, the Pelicans won the battle inside, outscoring L.A. 54-34 in points in the paint. And, with McCollum getting his groove back New Orleans also outscored the Clippers from deep by another 12 points while tying its season-high with 15 made threes.
The Pelicans now sit at 4-2 on the season as they prepare to close out their road trip against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Odds appear to be in New Orleans' favor. Since Willie Green took the helm the Pels are 5-1 in their last six games at Crypto.com Arena.
And after being a game-time decision on Sunday, Herb Jones should be back in the starting lineup by tip-off on Wednesday.
The case for the Pelicans as the deepest team in the NBA just keeps getting harder to deny.
