Nuggets at Pelicans
Zion Williamson displayed that he's a future star in his NBA debut and he looks to have another strong showing when the New Orleans Pelicans host the Denver Nuggets on Friday. Williamson returned from knee surgery to record 22 points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes but New Orleans suffered a 121-117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old Williamson scored 17 points in the fourth quarter -- including sinking four straight 3-pointers -- as he took over the game before being removed due to his minutes restriction. "It was everything I dreamed of, except for the losing part," Williamson said afterward. "Just the energy the crowd brought, the energy the city brought, it was electric and I'm just grateful that they did that. So, it was a dream come true to finally get out there, but at the end of the day I did want to win, so we've got to look to the next game." Denver was missing five players on Wednesday and didn't have enough manpower or energy to compete with Houston as it fell 121-105 for its eighth straight road loss against the Rockets. "We missed bodies, but that's not an excuse," center Nikola Jokic said after a loss in which he committed six turnovers. "We need to go out there and compete and we did. We need to do a better job of rebounding. I need to do a better job of throwing the ball around, not having turnovers, just to lead the team a little bit better."
TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Altitude, FS New Orleans, Sportsnet NOW
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (30-14): Starting guards Jamal Murray (ankle) and Gary Harris (groin) have missed four and five games, respectively, and starting power forward Paul Millsap (knee) sat out eight straight contests while forward Michael Porter Jr. (back) and big man Mason Plumlee (foot) also were sidelined against the Rockets. "We're not allowing our circumstances to take away from our positive energy," coach Michael Malone told reporters. "That's really important while we try to get healthy." Jokic contributed 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Houston for his eighth triple-double of the season and 36th of his career.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (17-28): The presence of Williamson turned a mid-January regular-season game into a showcase and coach Alvin Gentry was pleased with what he saw from the youngster. "What you saw there is a taste of (his ability), once he really gets settled in," Gentry said of Williamson's fourth-quarter splurge. "You can see that there are a lot of things we can do with him, a lot of potential there. It was good to see him do that. I just think there is a really, really high ceiling that he can reach." Williamson will remain on a minutes restriction and he unsuccessfully lobbied to remain in Wednesday's game when pulled with 5:23 remaining.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pelicans are 2-0 against the Nuggets this season and won the past three meetings.
2. New Orleans SF Brandon Ingram scored 22 points against San Antonio for his fourth straight 20-point outing but was just 6-of-22 shooting.
3. Denver scored 100 or more points in 22 consecutive games and is 16-6 during the stretch.