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No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson scored 23 points on Monday to help lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 109-99 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Wide World of Sports Complex.
Williamson finished by shooting 9-of-21 from the field while he added seven rebounds and five assists, which tied a career-high. He played his best game of the restart and was active not only by himself cutting on the floor but he also found his teammates on the move with nice passes.
Williamson logged a season restart-high of 25 minutes in the victory as he played in 5-6 minute bursts throughout the contest. He played 10 minutes alone during the fourth quarter, his most minutes played in a period since restarting the season.
“I feel alive again,” Williamson told Malika Andrews of ESPN after the game. “My competitive spirit was there and I’m glad Coach [Alvin Gentry] and the whole team trusted me to finish the game out.”
Williamson began the game by looking to attack the paint down low, which was not the case previously at Disney. He had seven field-goal attempts alone in the first quarter but started off slow, making just two of them, after he was often double teamed by the Grizzlies.
Williamson returned to throwing down highlight-reel dunks throughout the contest, including one from Lonzo Ball from beyond the halfcourt line on the break.
The performance by Williamson came after he turned in his worst outing of the season on Saturday. He scored a career-low seven points and five rebounds in the blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and didn’t appear in the fourth quarter after trailing by 37 points.
While Williamson logged 25 minutes, the 5-6 minute bursts appeared to be his limit as he looked to be gassed after his first stint of the fourth quarter. He sat for a few minutes and later checked in to finish the game on the floor and help the Pelicans win.
Williamson faced off against friend, and former AAU teammate, Ja Morant for the second time. Unfortunately, Morant struggled in the contest, tallying just 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds while he shot 5-of-21 from the field, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range.
The victory was the first for the Pelicans in three tries at Disney as they pulled to within 2.5 games of the Grizzlies in eighth place with five left to play. The Pelicans now have two days off before returning to play on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings.
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