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Zion Williamson drives to the basket during his first game since early November.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson returned to action against Minnesota on Tuesday night after missing 27 games with a left hamstring strain.
“He’s a force on the basketball court and we all know that when he steps on the floor he brings a certain energy to our team,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said before tipoff. “His ability to get to the basket, create open shots, it brings a ton of energy and we’re excited to get him back.
“When he plays at his best, we’re a better team.”
Green said Williamson would be on an unspecified minutes restriction, but inserted him in a starting lineup that also included guard Dejounte Murray, marking the first time the two have played together.
The crowd cheered when Williamson emerged from the tunnel for warmups before tipoff and again when he was announced as a starter. After an early turnover in the paint, Williamson contributed a putback and drew roars with a soaring. two-handed dunk of CJ McCollum’s long alley-oop lob.
WELCOME BACK ZION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3TK8or5HyL
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 8, 2025
Williamson, the first overall pick out of Duke in the 2019 NBA Draft, had played in just six of New Orleans’ previous 36 games this season, averaging 22.7 points, eight rebounds and 5.3 assists
The Pelicans (7-29) came into Tuesday night’s action with a 2-4 record when Williamson plays this season, and 5-25 without him, including 4-23 during the past 27 games.
New Orleans was seeking its third straight victory after sweeping both legs of a home-and-home series against the Washington Wizards (6-27), who had the NBA’s worst record entering Tuesday’s slate of games.
The Pelicans also have a game on Wednesday night against Portland, but Green declined to forecast whether Williamson would be cleared to play games on consecutive nights at this point in his recovery.
