Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray played together on the same team in a game for the first time on Tuesday night.
Both players have missed significant time due to injuries, but they gave a glimpse of what the New Orleans Pelicans envisioned when they traded for Murray from Atlanta in the offseason — even though the duo’s first game together resulted in a 104-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Pelicans, who have the worst record in the Western Conference, will have a chance to build on that performance when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
“That’s a small sample size of what this team is capable of,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Now we’ve got to try to string together more games like that and put together some wins.”
Williamson returned from a 27-game absence due to a strained hamstring to finish with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 27-plus minutes. It was just his seventh game of the season.
“I feel like my legs are already under me,” Williamson said. “Now it’s just getting into a game rhythm. I don’t have time to take three to five games to get that. I’ve got to figure it out as quickly as possible.”
Murray had a season-high 29 points, six assists and six steals.
“I think I’ve proved that’s what I do,” Murray said of breaking down defenses, “so I think it’s rubbing off on (Williamson). He’s being active, and that’s great to see.”
The Blazers, meanwhile, are coming off a 118-115 loss at Detroit on Monday night. They outscored Detroit 28-23 in the first quarter and led by as many as 22 points in the second before letting the margin and the game slip away.
“We’re just kind of trying to figure each other out, especially at the beginning of the game,” said guard Anfernee Simons, who scored a season-high 36 points.
“I might not be ultra-aggressive, but I’m still trying to make every single right play and make plays to get somebody else going. I trust myself to get going eventually.”
Simons definitely got going, scoring 17 points by making 7 of 8 shots from the floor in the final period.
“I try to take my time during the game,” Simons said. “And the third and fourth quarters are when I start to establish myself. I’m trying to kind of impose my will on the game just by reading the whole game throughout the game. I always say the fourth quarter is my time to get going.”
Simons leads Portland in scoring with an average of 18.6 points per game and is tied with Scoot Henderson for the lead in assists (5.1).
The season isn’t halfway over, but New Orleans and Portland already are wrapping up their season series, having played three times in the first two weeks of the season.
They split a two-game set in Portland during the first week as the Pelicans won 105-103 on Oct. 25 and the Blazers captured a 125-103 victory two days later. Portland also beat host New Orleans 118-100 on Nov. 4.
–Field Level Media
