New Orleans Pelicans: Zion sizzles, Pelicans beat Jazz in preseason

After starting the preseason on two wins, the New Orleans Pelicans pulled off late-game magic again tonight, beating the Utah Jazz at home.

Rolling to start the preseason, the New Orleans Pelicans took their third consecutive victory on Friday night. With a raucous crowd in the Smoothie King Center, the Pelicans survived a 14-point Utah Jazz lead to find a way to win.

Last night, Utah did give the Pelicans their best fight of the preseason.

While the Chicago Bulls’ starting unit jumped out to a big lead on the Pelicans on Wednesday night, tonight’s game featured two talented teams playing highly competitive basketball.

With Jrue Holiday battling a leg contusion and missing last night’s game, Lonzo Ball was given the lead ball-handling role, a position he played with grace. Ball finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, making 2 of his 5 looks from three, but his jump shot looked smooth.

Brandon Ingram started and played another really good game. Looking creative and attentive in all three preseason games, Ingram scored 18 points with 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 22 minutes.

However, the starters trailed late in the third, but the second team saved the game. Once again Alvin Gentry rode his bench down the stretch and once again it bought them preseason glory.

Continuing his reign in the preseason, Nickeil Alexander-Walker posted another dominant performance in 16 minutes off the bench. He scored a scorching 22 points with 4 assists, shooting 7-of-9 from the floor, but going 4-for-4 from three.

It’s worth wondering how many minutes Alexander-Walker has earned himself during his preseason run. Including his comeback-leading performance against the Bulls, he’s proved a huge value so far for the Pelicans.

Frank Jackson again looked in control off the bench, scoring 20 points and looking in command of the Pelicans offense in 20 minutes. Jackson is a part of a really talented depth chart of guards, so it’s beneficial to his future minutes to show-out in the preseason.

The unlikely hero of the night was Javon Bess, or perhaps Jarnell Brantley. With 0.5 seconds left, Bess put up a soft, floating layup and Brantley miffed an attempt to block the shot, getting called for goal attending.

Utah’s last-second possession was broken up by the New Orleans Pelicans’ defense. Pels fans drove home happy to the tune of a 128-127 home victory. They outscored Utah 39-27 in the fourth, powered by an inspired home crowd.

Zion made a top-tier Utah defense look like an average college team

Once again, Zion Williamson looked bigger, stronger, and faster than just about every player on the court, which is insane when you realize he’s just 19-years-old.

The rookie scored 26 points in 23 minutes, plus he only needed a dozen shots to post the figure, going 9-for-12 from the floor, hitting 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.

With the first couple of preseason games delivering us ALL the Zion paint looks, tonight featured an impressively consistent shooting night.

Including his first three-point make in the NBA (I know, it’s over folks), he looked poised from the free-throw line and unafraid on all of his field-goal attempts. The stroke looks confident, even if it’s not a made-for-perfection jump shot.

Rudy Gobert did give Zion some tougher looks aroung the rim. The towering Frenchman had 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks against the Pelicans, but had a +2 plus/minus, playing lights-out defense.

There’s little doubt in my mind that Gobert is the best defender Zion has ever played and he didn’t back down to the challenge. While he was able to grab 5 rebounds, Utah has a lot of taller guys who box out and attack the glass.

Zion showed an ability to navigate a pretty tough defense, impressive for such a young player. His interplay with Holiday and Ball has been incredible to watch, making it more daunting to consider the team’s offensive potential in the regular season.

With Zion’s continued excellence, it keeps pushing the notion that the New Orleans Pelicans are going to be competitive in the Western Conference. Even though Utah gave their starters some issues, with Holiday back in the lineup and with time to gel, this team has some serious potential.