Zion Williamson is getting closer to returning to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Williamson, who has missed more than two months because of a strained left hamstring, is listed as questionable for New Orleans’ home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Even if Williamson doesn’t play versus the Timberwolves, things are looking a bit better for the struggling Pelicans.
They have won two games in a row for the first time since the first two games of the season.
Both of the most recent victories came against the Washington Wizards, who are neck-and-neck with the Pelicans for the worst record in the NBA. Then again, any win is a good win for a team that had lost 11 in row and 20 of 21 before running into the Wizards.
“It’s great,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “Two wins in a row. We’ll continue to ride this momentum.”
The Pelicans beat the same team twice in three nights but did so in different ways. CJ McCollum tied his career-high with 50 points in a 132-120 victory on Friday night in New Orleans, but he led a more balanced scoring effort that made the difference in a 110-98 road win on Sunday night.
“He was fantastic again,” Green said of McCollum. “Whenever we needed a point, we put the ball in his hands and he made really good decisions.”
McCollum had half the points he had two nights earlier, leading four other Pelicans in double figures. Dejounte Murray had a triple-double with 14 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
“He’s keeping the game simple and making solid decisions and he’ll continue to build from there,” Green said of Murray.
McCollum has helped lead improved 3-point shooting for New Orleans, which made a season-high 18 shots from beyond the arc in both games against Washington and against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 30. In those three games McCollum has made 24-of-41 3-pointers.
The Timberwolves will be finishing a back-to-back set after ending a three-game losing streak with a 108-106 home victory against the Clippers on Monday. The Wolves also have a pretty hot scorer of their own.
Minnesota scored just 46 points in the first half against the Clippers and trailed by seven points at intermission. The Timberwolves, however, finished with 62 points in the second half as Anthony Edwards scored 28 of his 37 points after halftime.
“You’ve got to start games better, but it’s how you finish that matters,” center Naz Reid, who scored 18 points off the bench, said on the Wolves’ post-game TV.
Edwards’ outburst came on the heels of scoring a career-high 53 points in a 119-105 loss at Detroit on Saturday. He made 10 of 15 3-pointers against the Pistons.
But it was the outcome against the Clippers that was most important to Minnesota, which plays four of its next six games on the road.
“This is a great bounce-back win,” Reid said. “You’ve got to use this momentum and carry it on to the next couple of games and boost our confidence and keep it rolling.”
This is the first meeting of the season between these teams, who will square off again March 19 and 21 in Minneapolis.
