Last year, an injury forced Zion Williamson out of the New Orleans Pelicans' 2022 NBA Playoffs and Play-In Tournament, forcing him to be eliminated in the first round, but the Duke basketball player was able to make a big splash on Tuesday night. He made a statement in his first postseason appearance.
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The 23-year-old Pelicans sensation and former No. 1 overall draft pick scored a game-high 40 points as the Pelicans faced off against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers in the play-in tournament for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. , achieved results that matched his own. He had 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. Unfortunately, he injured his lower leg en route to tying the game at 95-95 and missed the final 3 hours and 13 minutes.
And without Williamson's powerful drive and dominant late touchdown, the Pelicans lost 110-106, punching LeBron James and the Lakers into the playoffs.
As for New Orleans' other former Duke Basketball one-and-done player and center forward, 26-year-old Brandon Ingram is back after missing two games with a knee injury. He played in only his second game since then. Almost 3 weeks. He played just 25 minutes against the Lakers, recording 11 points, four boards and four dimes, and sat on the bench for the final 7 minutes and 38 seconds of the fourth quarter.
Neither Los Angeles NBA Blue Devils saw playing time in New Orleans. Cam Reddish is out with a sprained right ankle, and Harry Giles, who is on a two-way contract, is currently inactive for the postseason.
The Pelicans must secure the No. 8 seed or see the season end, but they will host the Sacramento Kings on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET. It remains to be seen whether Zion Williamson will be sidelined due to injury issues (sore left leg, testing scheduled for Thursday) or Brandon Ingram will be limited again.
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