CLEVELAND, OH — The Cavaliers got their first look at rookie Zion Williamson on Tuesday, but his teammates were the ones that led the Pelicans to victory.
Jrue Holiday finished with 28 points and eight assists in the 125-111 win over the Cavaliers.
Brandon Ingram had 24 points and six assists for New Orleans.
The Pelicans led by as many as 22, but the Cavs fought back and cut the deficit to eight in the fourth quarter. Cleveland didn’t get any closer.
Rookie Kevin Porter Jr. led the Cavs with 21 points and five 3-pointers. It was just his second game back from a knee injury that sidelined him for three weeks.
Collin Sexton scored 24 points and Larry Nance Jr. finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Williamson didn’t have any rim-rattling dunks, but he finished with a respectable 14 points and nine rebounds. The rookie sensation received plenty of cheers from the home crowd during pregame introductions.
“He's a good player, but he didn't really beat us,” Sexton said after the loss. “It was Holiday and Brandon.”
Zion Williamson worked on his pick-and-roll for most of warmups. Here's a look at some of his workout. Of course the 19-year-old phenom stopped to sign some autographs for fans on his way to the locker room pic.twitter.com/MQaH6Lfkdc
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) January 28, 2020Rookie Darius Garland didn't play against the Pelicans. The Cavs wanted to give him back-to-back rest days. He's expected to be back on Thursday against Toronto.
The Pelicans shot 53 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. They scored 22 points off of 15 Cleveland turnovers.
The Cavaliers fall to 13-35 on the season. They’ve lost seven of their last eight games.
Honoring Kobe
The Cavaliers honored legend Kobe Bryant with 24.8 seconds of silence before the game. The arena was filled with Bryant jerseys and signs to celebrate his life. Bryant, 41, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was one of the nine passengers that passed away in the accident.
The Cavaliers also honored Bryant with a video tribute in the first quarter. Nance wore a No. 24 jersey in the first half to honor the 'Black Mamba'
Up Next
The Cavaliers play the Raptors on Thursday at 7p.m. at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
