There’s no stopping Zion Williamson.
At least not at the moment.
The 20-year-old continues to defy the modern game, dominating inside the paint — and only inside the paint — for a New Orleans Pelicans unit that secured a 116-109 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday (AEST).
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Mon, 12 Apr
Monday April 12th
Williamson, who had 25 points at half-time, finished with 38 points, nine rebounds and four assists against the Cavaliers, while Brandon Ingram added 27 of his own as the Pelicans improved to 24-29 on the season.
After dropping 37 against Philadelphia last time out, Williamson stayed hot. The New Orleans star has now averaged 31.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists over his last 10 games.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, it was Williamson’s eighth 30-point game of the season without a made field goal outside the paint. That’s more than the rest of the NBA combined.
In his second year in the league, Williamson is averaging 26.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on the season, and has only scored less than 15 points in a game once this campaign.
Dean Wade topscored for the Cavaliers with 21 points, while Aussie Matthew Dellavedova put up seven points and 10 assists in his 34 minutes as a starter.
DUNK OF THE YEAR?
It came in a losing effort, but Miles Bridges proved once again that he’s one of the most ferocious finishers in the NBA.
Atlanta’s Clint Capela was the victim on Monday as Bridges rose, took contact, before exploding at the rim for a dunk that could be the best we’ll see all season.
Led by Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 32 points in Trae Young’s absence, the Hawks won 105-101 against Charlotte in a battle between two playoff-chasing Eastern Conference sides.
Still, it was Bridges, who finished with a team-high 23 points in 41 minutes, who stole the show.
CELTICS STUN NUGGETS
Jayson Tatum tallied 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics snapped the Denver Nuggets’ eight-game winning streak with a 105-87 come-from-behind victory.
The visiting Celtics were fuelled by a 31-3 run that spanned parts of the third and four quarters after Denver led by 14 points late in the third.
“I think we just picked up the intensity,” Tatum said. “I think we communicated a lot better. We started switching a little bit more. I think that helped us out, too.
“That was big,” he added. “Because we could have let it get away from us.”
Tatum’s 28 points came just two days after he scored a career-best 53 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both Tatum (illness) and Jaylen Brown (knee) were questionable leading up to the start of the contest.
Brown had 20 points and eight rebounds, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker scored 14 each and Robert Williams scored 10 points in the win.
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double of 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Facundo Campazzo scored 14 and Will Barton had 13 for the Nuggets.
DEROZAN DRILLS GAME-WINNER
DeMar DeRozan nailed the game-winner with less than a second to go to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a 119-117 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, ending a five game losing skid.
DeRozan finished with 33 points, Dejounte Murray chipped in 25 points and Lonnie Walker scored 13 for the Spurs, who now travel to Florida to play Orlando.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Luka Doncic added 29 points, Josh Richardson scored 16 and Jalen Brunson hit for 11 points for the Mavericks, who have lost two of their past three. Porzingis fouled out with just over 74 seconds left.
Dallas tied the game 117-117 with 19 seconds left on a running jump shot by Doncic. But DeRozan’s precision shooting was on display all game long and especially in the fourth. With just seconds to go, the Spurs called a play for DeRozan. He dribbled the ball on the outside before shifting to the right and shooting over Mavs Dorian Finney-Smith to hit the game-winner.
GEORGE DEMOLISHES ROOKIE
The LA Clippers won their fifth-streight with a 131-124 win victory over the lowly Detroit Pistons, in a game that was highlighted by a monstrous Paul George dunk over rookie Isaiah Stewart in the fourth quarter.
George had 32 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists for the Clippers – his third-straight 30-point game despite a niggling toe complaint. Marcus Morris Sr. hit a season-high 33 points, with six-three pointers.
The Clippers ad seven players in double figures, easily making up for the absence of rested star Kawhi Leonard on what was their game in four nights.
Josh Jackson had 26 points while Saddiq Bey hit 25 for the Pistons.
BAM BLITZES BLAZERS
Bam Adebayo had 22 points and a crushing two-handed alley-oop dunk to guide Miami to a 107-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Heat were missing Victor Oladipo (knee) but still led by 20 points in the fourth, while Jimmy Butler added 20 points to seal Miami’s sixth win from their last seven.
For the Blazers, CJ McCollum and Norman Powell both had 17 points, but Damian Lillard struggled, draining just three shots from the floor for his 12 points.
NBA SCORES
ATLANTA HAWKS 105 — 101 CHARLOTTE HORNETS
BOSTON CELTICS 105 — 87 DENVER NUGGETS
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 116 — 109 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 124 — 87 ORLANDO MAGIC
TORONTO RAPTORS 96 — 102 NEW YORK KNICKS
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 119 — 117 DALLAS MAVERICKS
INDIANA PACERS 132 — 125 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
CHICAGO BULLS 117 — 121 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
DETROIT PISTONS 124 — 131 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
MIAMI HEAT 107— 98 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS