Pelicans (17-8), Suns (16-10)
Zion Williamson spent April watching from the sideline as his teammates scratched and clawed every minute of a first-round playoff series defeat to Phoenix. On Friday, the forward – who also missed an Oct. 28 game against the Suns due to injury – finally got his chance to face one of the NBA’s premier clubs. To say he capitalized on that opportunity would be an understatement, as the third-year pro racked up 35 points, including 22 in the second half, helping to power first-place New Orleans to its sixth straight win and hand Phoenix its third consecutive loss. In the first tilt of a two-game weekend series between the Western Conference’s two best squads entering Friday, the Pelicans stretched their lead to 1.5 games on the Suns.
After a minor kerfuffle and a few players needing to be separated after the final buzzer Friday, Phoenix and New Orleans will meet again Sunday at 2:30 p.m. “It is good to be on the winning side of it and we got another one Sunday,” second-year head coach Willie Green said. “We talked about it a few days ago in practice, this is like a playoff-like situation where you get to play a team twice and then make adjustments. I'm sure (the Suns) are going to come out and bring more physicality.”
Highlights: Top Plays from New Orleans Pelicans vs. Phoenix Suns 12/9/2022
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Williamson drove to the hoop and drew a foul, sinking a free throw to give New Orleans a nine-point lead with just 1:22 remaining. He punctuated the night with a 360-degree lefty breakaway dunk just before the final buzzer.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Williamson seemed as intent as he’s been all season to take over a game in the second half Friday, often running the New Orleans offensive attack from the top of the circle, setting up drives around frontcourt defenders who could not keep up with his quickness and athleticism. He finished 13/17 from the field and 9/12 at the foul line, while adding seven rebounds, four assists and one steal (the latter resulting in a breakaway dunk that inspired the home crowd again).
Zion Williamson (35 points) Highlights vs. Phoenix Suns 12/9/2022
BY THE NUMBERS
56-29: Pelicans bench scoring advantage, with Jose Alvarado cranking up the energy in the building with a spurt of three-point makes in the first half. He finished with 20 points on 6/10 shooting (3/5 on treys). Larry Nance Jr. (17 points) and Naji Marshall (14 points) were also excellent.
44-37: Pelicans rebounding advantage, led by Jonas Valanciunas’ 10 boards. Nance had six offensive caroms and nine overall.
73: Second-half points for New Orleans. It gained a cushion with a 40-30 third quarter.
REVISITING FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
SUN BLOCK
New Orleans totaled 17 “stocks” Wednesday, but this time the combined steals and blocks was a modest 11 (only one rejection). However, the key number here was Phoenix’s 17 turnovers.
CJ AND CP
CJ McCollum started to look like he was regaining his shooting stroke in the second half, after a quiet start Friday. The 10-year NBA veteran went for 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists in his 33 minutes of action, going 7/16 on field goals. Meanwhile, Chris Paul of Phoenix had one of his best individual games of the season, notching 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He shot 6/9 on threes.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
NOLA’s sixth-ranked offense vs. Phoenix’s sixth-ranked defense ended up being decidedly in favor of the Pelicans, who shot 51 percent from the field and rang up 128 points. This despite a 30 percent night from three-point range. Making 80 percent at the foul line boosted the attack.
#PELICANSFRIDAY
The 2022-23 team has quickly drawn comparisons to previous New Orleans squads based on one of the best starts to a regular season in franchise history, which begged the question: What’s your favorite team in the two-decade history of this ballclub? The top vote-getter on Twitter didn’t reach very far back in time for that answer, with last season’s Pelicans collecting 45 percent. There may be some recency bias involved – as well as some voters not old enough to have vivid memories of the most successful season ever for New Orleans – but the 2007-08 Hornets were next at 28 percent, slightly ahead of the 2017-18 Pelicans (swept a playoff series against Portland). As @mvh3117 wrote in supporting last season’s edition, “As great as the 07-08 run was, the 21-22 team grew up before our eyes after starting 3-16. The chemistry from the top down is going to make this team special.”