There is no way to beat the New Orleans Pelicans. Having Zion Williamson at the helm once again, the Blue Devils defeated the Phoenix Suns in overtime on Sunday, 129-124. This was their second victory in as many days against last year’s postseason opponent, and their seventh straight victory overall.
The win on Sunday pushed the Pelicans’ record to 18-8, giving them a one-game lead in the Western Conference over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Pelicans have never had a great start through 26 games in their franchise’s history, and this is the latest in a year they have been in first possession since April 11, 2008.
“I think we got a lot of experience from last year’s run,” CJ McCollum stated. “A lot of guys who are younger are getting more opportunities to show what they worked on in the summertime. The summertime work is paying off. Understand that we let some games slip away last year against the Suns and we wanted to make sure we take care of homecourt and build winning habits going forward.”
Chris Paul also happened to be the team leader back in 2008. The veteran returned to town this past weekend, and he was among the many Suns players who were still bitter over the game’s disappointing outcome on Friday. While the clock was winding down and the Pelicans were up nine, Williamson unleashed a breathtaking 360 windmill that had the Smoothie King Center in a frenzy but left several Suns players seething with rage.
Great call 👏@PelicansNBA | #Pelicans |📺:BSNO pic.twitter.com/yGXP6lHhv0
— Bally Sports New Orleans (@BallySportsNO) December 11, 2022
“That was a big call for us,” Williamson went on. “My teammates was hyping me up for getting the stop and he fouled out with that. That was big for us.”
The Pelicans are shaping up to be a legitimate threat in the Western Conference with Williamson performing at an All-Star level, a top-three defensive unit (108.4 defensive rating), and Ingram’s return at some point during their next long drive.
