The New Orleans Pelicans came incredibly close to the 7-seed in the Western Conference on Tuesday night, losing 110-106 at home to the Lakers. The Pelicans erased a double-digit deficit and clawed their way back into a tie game in the fourth quarter thanks to a tremendous performance from Zion Williamson.
The at times maligned forward put forth arguably the best game of his career, scoring 40 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Unfortunately for New Orleans, that was four minutes too few, as he suffered an injury that forced him to leave the game in the fourth quarter and missed the final four minutes of action after leading the charge to tie the game at 95-95. Without him, the Pelicans battled, but just didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with the Lakers down the stretch.
Williamson’s injury was initially called “leg soreness” which didn’t do him any favors as it brought his toughness into question by the TNT desk. However, it was eventually revealed to be a hamstring strain, with the team announcing on Wednesday that Williamson will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that forward Zion Williamson has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. An MRI taken this morning confirmed the injury. Williamson will be re-examined in approximately two weeks. pic.twitter.com/efY3f2Kq0X
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 17, 2024
That obviously precludes him from playing in Thursday’s Play-In finale against the Kings for the 8-seed, and should they win that game, he will miss most, if not all, of a first round series against the Thunder. That’s a huge blow for the Pelicans, particularly given the way Williamson has been playing to close out this season. He had finally seemed to reach his best form, dominating opponents with his explosiveness and finishing, only to see another injury derail a positive stretch.