Zion Williamson scores 36 as Pelicans send short-handed Pistons to 6th straight loss
DETROIT (AP) Zion Williamson scored 36 points and led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 114-101 victory over the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
Williamson shot 13 for 14 from the floor and 10 for 14 from the line in 36 minutes. He added seven rebounds and six assists and received applause from the crowd at Little Caesars Arena when he left the game with 1:20 remaining.
“He got it going about halfway through the first quarter, and we were just going to ride it,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “That's why I didn't take him out until the second.”
Williamson became the third player in the last 20 years to score 35 points without a 3-pointer and with fewer than 15 field goal attempts. Dwyane Wade did it in 2005 and 2006, and Dwight Howard accomplished the feat in 2013.
“I know my teammates and my coaches trust me,” said Williamson, who had four points against Miami on Friday. “I wasn't tripping over that game. Coming into this game, I just wanted to get the win and that's what we did.”
CJ McCollum scored 23 points for the Pelicans (44-27), who have won five of six.
The Pistons played without four of their five starters. Cade Cunningham (knee), Jalen Duren (back), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness) missed the game, and sixth man Simone Fontecchio (toe) was also sidelined. Jaden Ivey was the only available player to have scored more than 500 points this season.
Chimezu Metu and Malachi Flynn each scored 17 points for Detroit (12-59), which lost its sixth straight. Ivey added 16 points and Buddy Boeheim had a career-high 13. The Pistons need four wins in their last 11 games to avoid exceeding the franchise record of 66 losses.
“Our guys believed they could play with the Pelicans,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “They went out there and gave us a chance to compete. Zion's just a load when he's playing downhill.”
New Orleans led 57-41 after two periods and did just enough to keep the Pistons from mounting a significant rally in the second half.
The Pistons' patchwork offense has struggled to score. In the first quarter, Detroit shot 21.1% (4 for 19) from the floor, including 0 for 10 from 3-point range, on the way to a season-low 10 points. New Orleans managed more points off turnovers (11) and led by 19 points heading into the second quarter.
“We just turned it over,” Williams said. “We had eight or nine in the first quarter. The ball wasn't sticking and we were playing in the crowd.”
Boeheim matched his career high with eight points in the second quarter and the Pistons trailed by 16 points at the break.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Pistons: At the New York Knicks on Monday.
---
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Jonas Valanciunas vs. James Wiseman (Marcus Sasser gains possession) | ||
| 11:34 | | Jonas Valanciunas blocks James Wiseman's two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 11:34 | | Pistons offensive rebound | ||
| 11:34 | | Pistons turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 11:25 |  | Zion Williamson turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 11:14 | | Trey Murphy III blocks Troy Brown Jr.'s two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:11 | | Zion Williamson defensive rebound | ||
| 11:00 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:56 | | Troy Brown Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 10:50 | | James Wiseman offensive foul (CJ McCollum draws the foul) | ||
| 10:50 | | James Wiseman turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 10:31 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot (Zion Williamson assists) | 2-0 |
| 10:12 | | Troy Brown Jr. turnover (bad pass) (CJ McCollum steals) | ||
| 10:07 | | +3 | CJ McCollum makes three point running pullup jump shot | 5-0 |
| 9:41 | | Troy Brown Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:26 | | Jaden Ivey offensive rebound | ||
| 9:26 | | Jaden Ivey misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 9:26 | | Jonas Valanciunas defensive rebound | ||
| 9:19 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point driving dunk (CJ McCollum assists) | 7-0 |
| 9:02 | | +2 | Chimezie Metu makes two point driving dunk (Jaden Ivey assists) | 7-2 |
| 8:42 | | Jonas Valanciunas misses two point jump shot | ||
| 8:39 | | Troy Brown Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 8:22 | | Troy Brown Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:22 | | Chimezie Metu offensive rebound | ||
| 8:22 | | Jonas Valanciunas shooting foul (Chimezie Metu draws the foul) | ||
| 8:22 | | +1 | Chimezie Metu makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 7-3 |
| 8:22 | | +1 | Chimezie Metu makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 7-4 |
| 7:59 | | +2 | CJ McCollum makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot (Zion Williamson assists) | 9-4 |
| 7:42 | | +2 | Jaden Ivey makes two point driving finger roll layup | 9-6 |
| 7:30 | | Jonas Valanciunas misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:27 | | Troy Brown Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 7:05 | | Jaden Ivey misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:02 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 6:56 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point hook shot (Trey Murphy III assists) | 11-6 |
| 6:44 | | James Wiseman turnover (lost ball) (Herbert Jones steals) | ||
| 6:25 | | CJ McCollum misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 6:23 | | Chimezie Metu defensive rebound | ||
| 6:18 | | Jaden Ivey turnover (bad pass) (Herbert Jones steals) | ||
| 6:12 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point turnaround hook shot (Trey Murphy III assists) | 13-6 |
| 6:12 | | Troy Brown Jr. shooting foul (Zion Williamson draws the foul) | ||
| 6:12 | | Pistons 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:12 | | +1 | Zion Williamson makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 14-6 |
| 5:59 | | Tosan Evbuomwan offensive foul (Charge) (Larry Nance Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 5:59 | | Tosan Evbuomwan turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 5:42 | | Trey Murphy III turnover (bad pass) (Marcus Sasser steals) | ||
| 5:23 | | Jaden Ivey turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 5:04 | | +3 | Naji Marshall makes three point jump shot (Larry Nance Jr. assists) | 17-6 |
| 4:49 | | Trey Murphy III blocks Tosan Evbuomwan's three point jump shot | ||
| 4:47 | | Zion Williamson defensive rebound | ||
| 4:34 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:34 | | Jaden Ivey defensive rebound | ||
| 4:32 | | Tosan Evbuomwan misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 4:32 | | James Wiseman offensive rebound | ||
| 4:32 | | +2 | James Wiseman makes two point putback layup | 17-8 |
| 4:32 | | Naji Marshall shooting foul (James Wiseman draws the foul) | ||
| 4:32 | | James Wiseman misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 4:29 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 4:19 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:15 | | James Wiseman defensive rebound | ||
| 4:06 | | Marcus Sasser personal foul (Loose ball) (Naji Marshall draws the foul) | ||
| 4:06 | | Marcus Sasser turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 3:57 | | Zion Williamson turnover (bad pass) (Chimezie Metu steals) | ||
| 3:49 | | +2 | Tosan Evbuomwan makes two point running layup (Chimezie Metu assists) | 17-10 |
| 3:37 | | +3 | Naji Marshall makes three point jump shot (Larry Nance Jr. assists) | 20-10 |
| 3:22 | | Evan Fournier misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 3:22 | | Pelicans defensive rebound | ||
| 3:02 | | Jared Rhoden shooting foul (Zion Williamson draws the foul) | ||
| 3:02 | | Zion Williamson misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 3:02 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 3:02 | | +1 | Zion Williamson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 21-10 |
| 2:40 | | Jared Rhoden misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:37 | | Tosan Evbuomwan offensive rebound | ||
| 2:37 | | Tosan Evbuomwan misses two point tip layup | ||
| 2:37 | | Jose Alvarado defensive rebound | ||
| 2:34 | | +2 | Larry Nance Jr. makes two point running dunk (Naji Marshall assists) | 23-10 |
| 2:14 | | Evan Fournier misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:11 | | Naji Marshall defensive rebound | ||
| 2:09 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Jose Alvarado assists) | 25-10 |
| 1:54 | | Jared Rhoden misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:53 | | Pelicans defensive rebound | ||
| 1:53 | | Pelicans 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:35 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point driving layup | 27-10 |
| 1:13 | | Evan Fournier misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:10 | | Larry Nance Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 0:59 | | +2 | Naji Marshall makes two point floating jump shot | 29-10 |
| 0:39 | | Naji Marshall personal foul (Evan Fournier draws the foul) | ||
| 0:33 | | Chimezie Metu turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 0:21 | | CJ McCollum turnover (back court violation) | ||
| 0:06 | | Malachi Flynn misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:03 | | Larry Nance Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | Naji Marshall misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:39 | | Jonas Valanciunas misses two point hook shot | ||
| 11:36 | | Chimezie Metu defensive rebound | ||
| 11:23 | | +3 | Malachi Flynn makes three point pullup jump shot | 29-13 |
| 11:15 | | CJ McCollum misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 11:13 | | James Wiseman defensive rebound | ||
| 11:05 | | +3 | Buddy Boeheim makes three point jump shot (Malachi Flynn assists) | 29-16 |
| 10:40 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point hook shot (Naji Marshall assists) | 31-16 |
| 10:26 | | Jose Alvarado personal foul (Malachi Flynn draws the foul) | ||
| 10:17 | | Buddy Boeheim misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:15 | | Naji Marshall defensive rebound | ||
| 10:09 | | CJ McCollum misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:06 | | Evan Fournier defensive rebound | ||
| 9:59 | | +2 | James Wiseman makes two point layup (Chimezie Metu assists) | 31-18 |
| 9:59 | | Jonas Valanciunas shooting foul (James Wiseman draws the foul) | ||
| 9:59 | | +1 | James Wiseman makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 31-19 |
| 9:47 | | Jaden Ivey personal foul (Naji Marshall draws the foul) | ||
| 9:31 | | Jose Alvarado misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:29 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 9:18 | | +2 | Jose Alvarado makes two point driving floating jump shot | 33-19 |
| 9:07 | | Malachi Flynn misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:04 | | Jose Alvarado defensive rebound | ||
| 9:03 | | Chimezie Metu shooting foul (Herbert Jones draws the foul) | ||
| 9:03 | | +1 | Herbert Jones makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 34-19 |
| 9:03 | | Herbert Jones misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 9:01 | | James Wiseman defensive rebound | ||
| 8:44 | | Jaden Ivey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:41 | | Jonas Valanciunas defensive rebound | ||
| 8:34 | | CJ McCollum misses two point driving layup | ||
| 8:34 | | Jonas Valanciunas offensive rebound | ||
| 8:34 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point putback layup | 36-19 |
| 8:34 | | Buddy Boeheim shooting foul (Jonas Valanciunas draws the foul) | ||
| 8:34 | | Jonas Valanciunas misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 8:31 | | Tosan Evbuomwan defensive rebound | ||
| 8:18 | | Jaden Ivey misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 8:16 | | Naji Marshall defensive rebound | ||
| 8:09 | | Jonas Valanciunas misses two point bank hook shot | ||
| 8:07 | | James Wiseman defensive rebound | ||
| 8:00 | | James Wiseman misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 7:58 | | Jonas Valanciunas defensive rebound | ||
| 7:45 | | Marcus Sasser blocks Herbert Jones's two point driving layup | ||
| 7:44 | | Marcus Sasser defensive rebound | ||
| 7:38 | | Marcus Sasser turnover (bad pass) (Herbert Jones steals) | ||
| 7:30 | | +3 | Naji Marshall makes three point running jump shot (Jordan Hawkins assists) | 39-19 |
| 7:10 | | +2 | James Wiseman makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Marcus Sasser assists) | 39-21 |
| 6:58 | | Herbert Jones turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 6:58 | | Pistons 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:35 | | +3 | Marcus Sasser makes three point jump shot (Buddy Boeheim assists) | 39-24 |
| 6:23 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point alley-oop layup (Herbert Jones assists) | 41-24 |
| 6:07 | | Jordan Hawkins shooting foul (Buddy Boeheim draws the foul) | ||
| 6:07 | | +1 | Buddy Boeheim makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 41-25 |
| 6:07 | | +1 | Buddy Boeheim makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 41-26 |
| 6:01 | | Tosan Evbuomwan shooting foul (Zion Williamson draws the foul) | ||
| 6:01 | | +1 | Zion Williamson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 42-26 |
| 6:01 | | Zion Williamson misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 5:58 | | Tosan Evbuomwan defensive rebound | ||
| 5:42 | | Jaden Ivey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:40 | | Jordan Hawkins defensive rebound | ||
| 5:37 | | +2 | Larry Nance Jr. makes two point running layup (Jordan Hawkins assists) | 44-26 |
| 5:24 | | Jaden Ivey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:21 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 5:05 | | +3 | Herbert Jones makes three point jump shot (Zion Williamson assists) | 47-26 |
| 4:49 | | +3 | Jaden Ivey makes three point jump shot (Marcus Sasser assists) | 47-29 |
| 4:36 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:31 | | Tosan Evbuomwan defensive rebound | ||
| 4:25 | | Jaden Ivey turnover (lost ball) (Trey Murphy III steals) | ||
| 4:21 | | Tosan Evbuomwan blocks Trey Murphy III's two point running layup | ||
| 4:17 | | Buddy Boeheim defensive rebound | ||
| 4:12 | | +3 | Jaden Ivey makes three point running jump shot (Marcus Sasser assists) | 47-32 |
| 4:12 | | Pelicans 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:58 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:55 | | Tosan Evbuomwan defensive rebound | ||
| 3:41 | | +3 | Buddy Boeheim makes three point jump shot (Jaden Ivey assists) | 47-35 |
| 3:30 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:26 | | Buddy Boeheim defensive rebound | ||
| 3:08 | | Tosan Evbuomwan misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:05 | | Herbert Jones defensive rebound | ||
| 2:55 | | Jaden Ivey personal foul (Trey Murphy III draws the foul) | ||
| 2:55 | | +1 | Trey Murphy III makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 48-35 |
| 2:55 | | +1 | Trey Murphy III makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 49-35 |
| 2:39 | | Larry Nance Jr. shooting foul (Tosan Evbuomwan draws the foul) | ||
| 2:39 | | Tosan Evbuomwan misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 2:39 | | Pistons offensive rebound | ||
| 2:39 | | +1 | Tosan Evbuomwan makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 49-36 |
| 2:27 | | CJ McCollum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:24 | | Chimezie Metu defensive rebound | ||
| 2:16 | | +2 | Tosan Evbuomwan makes two point floating jump shot (Jaden Ivey assists) | 49-38 |
| 1:58 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point driving layup (CJ McCollum assists) | 51-38 |
| 1:39 | | Marcus Sasser misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:37 | | Zion Williamson defensive rebound | ||
| 1:31 | | +2 | Zion Williamson makes two point running layup | 53-38 |
| 1:11 | | +2 | Chimezie Metu makes two point layup (Buddy Boeheim assists) | 53-40 |
| 0:59 | | CJ McCollum misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 0:56 | | Buddy Boeheim defensive rebound | ||