Zion Powers Pelicans Past Top-Seed Minnesota Timberwolves

Zion Williamson shook off the criticism from his poor play by responding with a dominant performance over the Wolves.

New Orleans, LA - The New Orleans Pelicans rebounded from an embarrassing showing in the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-107. The Wolves came into the game with the league's best record but played without their best player due to injury.

Minnesota announced before the game that All-Star forward Anthony Edwards would miss the contest with a hip injury. Troy Brown, Jr. got the start in Edwards' place for the Wolves. Eager to erase the disappointing performance from Thursday night, Zion Williamson started the game strong for New Orleans. Williamson scored nine points on 3/5 shooting in the first quarter. 

Turnovers kept the Wolves in the game for much of the first half. New Orleans committed five turnovers in the opening period that the Wolves converted into six points. Karl Anthony-Towns went perfect from the field, going 3/3 and scoring ten points to lead all scorers. The game was tied at 29 apiece heading into the second. 

New Orleans created a little cushion late in the second quarter, but again turnovers reared its ugly head for the Pels. Four more turnovers resulted in nine Wolves points kept them lingering around before halftime. Brandon Ingram made a 30-foot three-point shot as the half ended to give the Pelicans its largest lead of the game up to that point. Ingram scored eight points in the period, while Williamson scored six points for a game-high 15 points at the half. The first half featured 16 lead changes and 13 ties. After 24 minutes of play, New Orleans led 59-52 at halftime.

Dec 11, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) steals the ball from New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) during the first half at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Pels began to attack the basket more with Edwards, one of the Wolves premier perimeter defenders, out of the lineup. New Orleans forced 11 fouls from the Wolves in the third quarter alone, which resulted in 19 free throw attempts from the Pelicans in the period. Williamson attempted seven of those free throws himself, scoring 14 points. 

The Wolves traded free throws with three-point attempts, making six of ten from beyond the arc in the third. This included a late 49-foot shot from Jordan McLaughlin to cut the Pels lead to 90-86 heading into the fourth.

New Orleans finally separated itself from the Wolves with a 9-0 run to start the quarter. The Pels defense stiffened up, holding Minnesota to just eight points in the first seven minutes of the fourth. CJ McCollum hit three three-point shots to pad the New Orleans lead, including a dagger three to put the game away late. McCollum finished with 23 points on the night.

Zion Williamson finished with 36 points, the most points he's scored since December of 2022. In that game, Williamson scored a career-high 43 points against this same Minnesota Timberwolves team. The victory snaps a four-game winning streak the Wolves previously had over New Orleans.

The Pelicans now hit the road for a three-game road trip, starting Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards. Monday's victory improves the Pelicans to 13-11 on the season.