Zion Williamson nearly matched the career-high he’d set the night before as the Pelicans picked up a 112-103 win against the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Williamson who scored 39 Friday night, chipped in 38 for the Pelicans (20-25), including 13 in the fourth quarter to New Orleans seal the victory against the Mavericks.
“Honestly, I was just making reads,” Williamson said. “If the driving lane was there, I was going to go, but I also used that to my advantage when it came to passing, because I’ve got great shooters around me who are very confident, so I made the pass and they executed off of it."
He also dished a game-high six assists including a couple Nickeil Alexander-Walker who hit a three 3s in the fourth quarter as the Pelicans pulled away.
"I mean, every read, he's just making the reads and of course he's doing Zion things,” Alexander-Walker said. “At this point in time, we're not – I’m not surprised. He’s a great player and very unselfish, and he made winning plays tonight."
Alexander-Walker finished with 20 points and five rebounds once again starting in place of an injured Lonzo Ball. Saturday’s game marked the third time he’s scored at least 20 in the past six games.
“I say a little bit of both as far as keeping the same routine and sticking to the routine, but also being confident in myself,” he said. “Not really worrying about the next shot, trying to see if this will be the one. Just shooting them and trusting my work, and allowing it to come.”
Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy also praised guard Eric Bledsoe’s performance.
“I thought really the whole second half, Eric Bledsoe doing the job he did on Tim Hardaway Jr. was important because Tim killed us in the first half,” Van Gundy said. “Bledsoe went on him and just got into him and made it a lot tougher on all of his shots. I thought that was key, but then down the stretch, everybody really got into it and guarded and rebounded.”