In his eighth regular-season game, Zion Williamson led the New Orleans Pelicans in scoring with 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting as the team survived a fourth-quarter rally by the Chicago Bulls to win 125-119.
The Pelicans led by as many as 27 and led by double digits for a majority of this game.
Here are the biggest takeaways from this contest:
Zion & Zo carry the Pelicans
Five Pelicans scored in double figures led by Williamson's tally as they overcame a 21 turnover game by dishing out a season-high 37 assists. Collectively, the Pelicans shot the ball well, going 49-of-87 (56.3%) from the field and 16-of-38 (42.1%) from beyond the arc.
Other than his 21, the 2019 No. 1 draft pick also finished with four rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes of action.
Zion Williamson is shooting 57.4% this season, the best by a player through 8 career games since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984-85 (min. 100 attempts).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 7, 2020
From @EliasSports, it's also the 3rd-best through 8 games by any player in the shot-clock era (min. 100 attempts). pic.twitter.com/yl4HKKF1TW
Lonzo Ball was the another key contributor for the Pelicans. He dished out a team-high 10 assists, scored nine points (3-of-5 FG) and finished with team-high +23 in his 33 minutes of play.
Not to mention, his ever-growing on-court chemistry with the Williamson as they continued their alley-oop fest.
The Zo-Zion connection is ridiculous 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ju6TM64Obc
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 7, 2020
JJ Redick added 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Josh Hart added 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists and Nicolo Melli 12 points on 5-of-8 from the field.
Brandon Ingram's injury update
Midway through the third quarter, Brandon Ingram appeared to sprain his right ankle which forced him to return to the locker room and not return for the rest of the game.
Gentry said “we’ll find out” about BI’s ankle. https://t.co/b8A725aLp6
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) February 7, 2020
When he left the game, Ingram had 15 points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals in 21 minutes.
Last week, Ingram was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. In today's All-Star Draft, he was selected by Team captain Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Rookie Adam Mokoka sparks Bulls rally that falls short
Before the fourth quarter tipped-off, the Bulls were trailing by 22 (103-81). In fact, they were still down by 18 (114-96) with five minutes to go when rookie Adam Mokoka checked in.
In his five minutes of action, Mokoka couldn't miss and outscored the Pelicans by himself 15-11.
In the shot-clock era (since 1954-55), no player had ever scored 15+ points in as little playing time as Adam Mokoka tonight.
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 7, 2020
📊via Elias Stats Bureau pic.twitter.com/gugSf4OqZB
He scored 15 points (6-of-6 FG; 3-of-3 3PT) and was a +12 in his time on the floor. He helped the Bulls outscore the Pelicans 23-12, but they ran out of time to complete their comeback.
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