Since Willie Green took the New Orleans Pelicans coaching job more than three years ago, he has been dealt a seemingly never-ending string of injuries.
Zion Williamson didn’t play at all in Green’s first season as the team’s coach, the result of a broken right foot.
This season, which is Green’s fourth in New Orleans, the team is already missing four of its top six players. Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones are all sidelined.
“That’s there,” Green said about the Pelicans’ injury misfortune. “But I don’t stay there. I don’t stay there long. Life is too good. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to lead.”
Green’s injury-depleted Pelicans were back at home after a four-game road trip, and while the early minutes against the Indiana Pacers were ugly, New Orleans found a spark on its way to a 125-118 win on Friday.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram combined to score 60 points, and the Pelicans got important contributions elsewhere as they snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-3 overall.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) scores against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of the basketball game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER“I think it’s a huge growth moment for them," Green said about his two All-Star forwards. "A step in the right direction. Starting with their defense. Communicating defensively. Those guys were talking all game. Getting guys in the right spots. Rebounding the ball. Sharing the basketball. Trusting their teammates."
The Pelicans entered Friday’s game as the NBA’s 27th-rated offense. Surprisingly, scoring wasn’t a problem against the Pacers.
Williamson looked more comfortable compared to Wednesday's game, when he shot 5 of 20 from the field in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. He scored 34 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out 10 assists.
Williamson and Ingram both played complete games.
At the 4:26 mark of the fourth quarter, Ingram fed Williamson a bounce pass, which set the Pelicans power forward up for a dunk. That gave the Pelicans a seven-point lead.
“I think there are a lot of times where I’ll set screens for (Brandon), but I wasn’t setting them at the right angle," Williamson said. "Or I wasn’t setting a proper screen. Been watching film on it.”
Ingram notched 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Second-year guard Jordan Hawkins and Brandon Boston — a wing on a two-way contract — provided support. Hawkins and Boston both made 3s in the final minute of the third quarter.
Hawkins fought through lower back soreness en route to 23 points. His layup with 1:25 remaining gave the Pelicans a four-point lead.
"He’s such a tough-minded young man," Green said. "We knew he wasn’t feeling his best. I asked him several times. He said, ‘I’ll let you know if I can’t play. As long as I can get up and down the floor, put me back in.’ He was huge for us.”
The Pelicans had five players in double figures and set a new season high in scoring, slightly eclipsing the 123 points they put up on the Chicago Bulls on opening night.
The Pelicans have won the two games they’ve played at Smoothie King Center this season. They’re next in action Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.
To weather their injuries over the next few weeks, the Pelicans will need Williamson and Ingram be as impactful as they were Friday in what was one of their best games as a duo over the past five years.
"We still trust our teammates that are out there," Williamson said. "But it is a slightly bigger responsibility us two had to take on. For us, it’s fun. Go out there and hoop. And compete. And play the game within the game and get the win.”
