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No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson scored a career-low seven points and five rebounds Saturday during a 126-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the New Orleans Pelicans’ second game of the season restart.
The Pelicans trailed the entire game and the Clippers’ 32-point halftime lead was the fifth-highest in team history. The Clippers also set a new franchise record for the most 3-pointers in a single game after rookie Terance Mann drilled the 25th trey with 8.4 seconds left.
Williamson logged only 14 minutes of playing time in the loss and did not play in the fourth quarter as the Clippers led by 37 points. Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said Sunday that Williamson would have played had the game been closer.
We definitely would have seen him in that situation. Obviously, in a 30-point game, I’m not going to stick him back in those situations, although some people think it gives him an opportunity to be on the floor and play. I didn’t feel like that made sense in that situation.
Williamson has been placed on a strict minutes count over the team’s first two games in the season restart. On Thursday, Williamson logged 15 minutes and played in 3-4 minutes bursts while those stints on the floor were bumped up to 5-6 minutes on Saturday.
Williamson acknowledged the plan is strictly a precautionary measure and said that his body feels the same as it did prior to leaving the team to attend to an urgent family matter. He said the short bursts of playing time have made it tough getting into a groove on the floor.
It’s very tough, to be honest, because as soon as I start to break that sweat, I look over and that horn is for me and I have to come out of the game. Also, when I do catch that flow of the game, that horn goes off and it’s for me.
Williamson declined to give an estimate on his playing time for the Pelicans’ next game on Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies, though it is reasonable to believe it will be closer to 20 minutes based on his previously minutes escalation in the past.
The Pelicans tip-off against the Grizzlies at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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