New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) watches the game against the Boston Celtics from the bench during the first half of the basketball game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
Zion Williamson missed a game for the first time this season, and the New Orleans Pelicans had the same result as their first two games — a loss.
But for the first time this season, they weren’t competitive.
Williamson was sidelined by a left foot bone contusion, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Pelicans 122-90 on Monday night in the Smoothie KingCenter.
Anfernee Simons scored 25 points to lead a barrage of 3-pointers by the Celtics (1-3), who beat New Orleans for the ninth straight time.
Payton Pritchard scored 18, Luka Garza had 16, Jaylen Brown and Josh Minott had 15 each, and Derrick White scored 11. Simons made 6 of 13 3-pointers, and the Celtics made 18 of 53, compared to 9 of 36 for the Pelicans.
Jordan Poole led the Pelicans with 22 points, rookie first-round draft choice Derik Queen had 12, and Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey 11 each for the Pelicans.
Rookie Jeremiah Fears made his first start for the Pelicans, but he had just two points, two assists and one steal, making just 1 of 11 shots, in 26 minutes.
The Pelicans begin a three-game road trip when they visit Denver on Wednesday.
“It’s something that kind of popped up this morning,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said of Williamson’s injury. “It didn’t seem like it was too serious, but I’m not sure.”
Jones went to the bench after committing his fourth foul barely a minute into the third quarter, and he was replaced by Bey, who made two 3-pointers to help the Pelicans trim an 11-point halftime deficit to 75-71 midway through the period.
Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman each made a 3-pointer, and the Celtics extended the lead to 87-78 at the end of the third quarter.
Poole’s 3-pointer got New Orleans within five points early in the fourth quarter, but Simons made two 3-pointers and Hauser added one to extend the lead to 102-86. The Celtics outscored the Pelicans 35-12 in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics led by as many as 14 points during the first quarter before finishing the period with a 34-26 lead as Brown scored nine points.
Veteran center DeAndre Jordan, signed as a free agent on Friday by the Pelicans, made his debut to start the second quarter and made a dunk 14 seconds into the period. The Pelicans scored the first six points of the period to get within two points.
Boston rebuilt the lead to 14 points on its way to a 65-54 halftime lead.