----- Zion Williamson scores 31 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans over the Portland Trail Blazers 138-117 Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA.
The Zion Williamson Show!
The Portland Trail Blazers got their first look at Zion Williamson on Tuesday night and it turned out to be trouble with a capital "T."
Williamson finished with a game-high 31 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans hammered the Portland Trail Blazers 138-117 Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Zion had plenty of help in the win. JJ Reddick scored 20 points off the bench, Jrue Holiday added 16 points and 10 assists, and Lonzo Ball scored nine points and dished out 10 assists.
The Pelicans (23-31) connected on 53.3% of their shots including 14-of-34 from three-point range. New Orleans put pressure on Portland in transition turning misses into easy buckets. New Orleans had a 35-13 edge in fast break points.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each scored 20 points to lead the Blazers, Carmelo Anthony added 18, and Hassan Whiteside finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The Blazers raced to a 16-point lead in the first quarter and held a 52-38 advantage with 7:06 remaining in the first half on a McCollum 16-foot jumper, but the Pelicans answered with a 25-13 run to close out the half. The Pelicans hot-shooting continued in the third when they took control of the game with a 29-8 run and a 17-2 edge in fast break points in the period.
With the loss, Portland (25-30) is now four-games behind 8th place Memphis in the loss column.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will play the second of a back-to-back tomorrow night in Memphis against the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Matador Defense not gonna get the job done for the Trail Blazers.