On Sunday, Zion Williamson distracted a lot of hurting basketball fans. The New Orleans Pelicans welcomed the Boston Celtics to Smoothie King Center. This would end up Williamson’s first on-court victory as a pro, with a 123-109 win.
He did some major damage in 27 minutes, recording 21 points and 11 rebounds. Obviously this was his first double-double to date. Check out some of his highlight reel play:
Zion Williamson dunking & dominating in his 3rd NBA game.
21 PTS & 11 REB in 27 MINS pic.twitter.com/5cenCaRD4b
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 27, 2020
Following the game, Williamson commented that he was sad about Kobe Bryant; although he never had the chance to meet the legend. Then he spoke about about entering at the 4:00 mark to help New Orleans close out their win.
“I was very anxious, but it was tough watching from the sideline in the fourth quarter in the last two games,” Williamson said. “But it was good to finally get out there, and it was good to get my first win.”
Williamson also remarked that growing up. he had both the no. 8 and no. 24 versions of Bryant’s jerseys.
Before the game, the Pelicans paid a special tribute to Bryant by not only taking a shot clock violation on both sides; but also 24.8 seconds moment of silence prior to tip-off.
The New Orleans Pelicans and the Boston Celtics started the game by each taking 24-second shot-clock violations in honor of Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/AA3ntFpLtc
— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2020
Thus far, the Pelicans are still close enough within reach that they could make a go of grabbing the 8th seed in the playoffs in the West. Currently, they are four games out of the last spot.
