The New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves meet for the second time in three days on Friday night.
New Orleans escaped with a 119-115 victory over the Wolves, grabbing just their seventh road victory of the season. Pelicans star Zion Williamson led the way with 29 points in 30 minutes of play.
Williamson has historically been dominant against Minnesota, averaging nearly 29 points per game in his career. The former No. 1 overall pick is a force on the court when healthy, but this season has seen the star on the bench more often than not. New Orleans released their injury report for Friday's game at Minnesota, and initially, the two-time all-star was not listed, but on Friday, he was ruled out for the game.
Zion Williamson (back) ruled out Friday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) March 21, 2025
Despite his dazzling display of power and agility, Williamson is again in jeopardy of playing fewer than 40 games this season. Doing so would mark the fourth time he has not played over 40 games in his six-year career. A serious hamstring injury in November sat the star forward down for 27 straight games until he returned in January.
His return marked Williamson's focus on dominating on a nightly basis, with the former Duke standout averaging career-highs in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game. He even has his opponents take notice of the force Williamson plays with. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards commented postgame on Wednesday how tough it is to guard Zion.
TOUGH ZION pic.twitter.com/3UhNQiXngJ
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 20, 2025
"Zion is tough, he's a tough cover," Edwards said about the Pelicans' forward. "His touch around the rim and he takes off from so far that you think he can't get to the rim and every time he's finger rolling it off the rim or high off the glass. I'm not going to lie, he's incredible."
Tip-off for Friday night's game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST.
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