Pelicans at Cavaliers
Zion Williamson continues to make an impact and he aims to enjoy another strong effort when the New Orleans Pelicans visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Williamson is fresh off his first career double-double as he delivered 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 123-108 home victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Williamson's minutes extended to 27 and he finished the game on the floor for the first time in three NBA appearances during the impressive win over the Celtics. "I was very anxious, but it was tough watching from the sideline in the fourth quarter in the last two games," Williamson, who is averaging 19.3 points and eight rebounds, told reporters. "But it was good to finally get out there, and it was good to get my first win." The Cavaliers halted a seven-game losing streak and won for just the third time in the past 15 contests when they posted a 115-100 road victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday. "The past week-and-a-half, we've been on a bit of a slide and to get off that on the road is big time," power forward Larry Nance Jr. said in a postgame television interview. "Hopefully now we can shift gears and start down a better path."
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS New Orleans, FS Ohio
ABOUT THE PELICANS (18-29): Williamson missed the first three months of the season due to knee surgery but hasn't been hindered while topping 20 points twice and making 24-of-36 field-goal attempts in his first three games. "There's obviously a huge area of improvement that's going to be made," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters of Williamson. "You know, he's played three NBA games now, and what he's done he's just done on raw talent really. He'll get the feel of what we're trying to do, and playing in a certain amount of space and how we can give him the ball and things like that. He's going to be a welcome addition." Standout guard Jrue Holiday scored 25 points against Boston for just his second 20-point outing of the month after reaching the mark 11 times in December.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (13-34): Center Tristan Thompson had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Pistons for his fifth double-double of the month. "Speed-wise, Tristan can be an elite athlete," Cleveland coach John Beilein said afterward. "We're trying to get him to flatten the defense and run the floor and don't always run into a ball screen." Point guard Collin Sexton scored 23 points against Detroit for his ninth 20-point outing of the month while power forward Kevin Love matched his season high of six 3-pointers while scoring 20 points, his third straight 20-point outing.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pelicans won both of last season's meetings and have taken four of the past five.
2. Cavaliers rookie SG Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) had nine points and three assists in 16 minutes on Monday after a 10-game absence.
3. New Orleans PG Lonzo Ball recorded a career-best 15 assists against Boston and has been in double digits in eight of his past 14 appearances.