Zion Plays More Minutes as Pelicans Earn Big Win Against Grizz
The New Orleans Pelicans (29-38) won their first game in Orlando, FL in the NBA bubble as they took a big game against the Memphis Grizzlies (32-36) 109-99.
The Grizz are currently in the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff picture but they're 0-3 in the bubble and at this point are clinging to the 8th seed by 1.5 games over the San Antonio Spurs. Also, they're two games clear of the Portland Trailblazers and 2.5 ahead of New Orleans at this point.
Coming into this game the talk around the Pelicans was how many minutes would the young phenom Zion Williamson play? He played 15 minutes in each of his first two games in the restart and it was expected he would play a bit more in the game Monday and he did. In total, Williamson played 25 minutes and in crunch time down the stretch in the fourth quarter helping the Pels close out Memphis for the win.
Speaking of the fourth quarter, Brandon Ingram scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the final quarter of the game to help cement the game away for New Orleans.
Zion finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Another important aspect of this game was the assist to turnover ratio in which the team turned the ball over only 14 times meanwhile they dished out 25 assists.
Derrick Favors led the way rebounding wise with 13 boards, Josh Hart was his classic spark plug-self with 15 points, seven points and plenty of hustle plays, and JJ Reddick poured in 16 himself.
Their next bubble game comes your way Thursday, August 6th at 12:30 p.m. CT against the Sacramento Kings, a team they're currently half of a game ahead of in the standings.
For all my sports posts and to hear my inner sports thoughts, make sure to keep up with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Pelicans 2020 Restart Schedule