Williamson put on a show, but the Pelicans dropped to a Western Conference-worst 7-30 with a loss to the Timberwolves.
Zion Williamson made his return to the court Tuesday night following a 27-game absence with a hamstring strain.
It was a welcome sight for fans of the New Orleans Pelicans, and there were highlight-reel dunks. But it didn’t result in a Pelicans win.
There were no signs of rust for Williamson, who put on a show in front of a home New Orleans crowd. But Anthony Edwards powered the Timberwolves to a 104-97 win. The loss dropped the Pelicans to 7-30 in a season plagued by injuries.
The good news for New Orleans is that Williamson appeared fully recovered while tallying 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He also led the game with three dunks, one of which wouldn’t be have been out of place in a dunk contest.
Zion puts on a show
Williamson got on the board early with a putback of a missed Herbert Jones layup. His second bucket was one for the highlight reel. Williamson ran the court on a break and caught a long lob from CJ McCollum on the baseline for a two-handed alley-oop slam to cut the Pelicans’ early deficit to 16-8.
WELCOME BACK ZION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3TK8or5HyL
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 8, 2025
But he saved his best for the second half. The Pelicans tied the game at 54 at halftime, then scored the first three buckets of the third quarter. Two of them were Williamson dunks, the first of which Williamson found himself all alone in transition after picking Edwards’ pocket.
He made the most of the moment with a 360 tomahawk slam.
ZION HIT THE 360 JAM 😤 pic.twitter.com/et64hw5J8F
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 8, 2025
The Pelicans extended their lead to 64-56 midway through the quarter. But the Timberwolves took control from there and led the entire fourth quarter in part due to a big night from Edwards.
Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 points, nine rebounds and three assists and was lights out from long-distance on a 7-of-11 effort from beyond the 3-point arc.
Can Zion stay healthy this time?
Williamson has now played in seven of the Pelicans’ 37 games in another season beset by injury. Amid a rash of injuries to several key players, New Orleans is off to the worst start in the Western Conference. Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, McCollum, Jones and Trey Murphy III have all missed significant time with injuries this season alongside Williamson.
But it’s Williamson’s injuries that have became a familiar refrain since the Pelicans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Williamson has played in just 191 of 427 Pelicans regular-season games due to various injuries since he joined the team.
He’s played in 29 or fewer games in three different seasons, including missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with a foot injury. Williamson played 70 games in the 2023-24 season, the most of his NBA career.
He returns to a roster that’s still without fellow former All-Star Ingram, who’s been sidelined with an ankle injury for the past 12 games. Murray, McCollum, Jones and Murphy have all returned from long-term absences, though Murphy missed Tuesday’s game with a sprained ankle.
Despite Williamson’s injury history, the Pelicans signed him to a five-year, $197 million max extension in 2022 that runs through the 2027-28 season. The last three seasons of the deal reportedly are not guaranteed due to a games-played clause that was triggered when he played just 29 games during the 2022-23 season.
When healthy, Williamson has been an imposing interior force on the court. For his career, he’s averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 58.7% from the field.
