Zion Williamson scored 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting and New Orleans Pelicans exceeded the Minnesota Timberwolves for a victory 119-115 Wednesday evening in Minneapolis.
Williamson added eight assists, five returns and three steals for New Orleans (19-51), who played their first match since forward Trey Murphy III suffered a seasonal shoulder injury. CJ McCollum added 18 points, and Bruce Brown made 15 from the bench.
Anthony Edwards got 29 points but shot only 5-for-19 from the Morenota field (40-31), which has lost two in a row since he won eight straight. Julius Randle finished with 17 points and Mike Conley did 16 years.
New Orleans shot 52.8 percent (47 out of 89) from the field and 44.8 percent (13 out of 29) beyond the arch. Minnesota shot 45.5 percent (35 out of 77) in total and 41 percent (16 out of 39) from depth.
The point was tied to 115-all after Naz Reid made one of two free throwing with 1:49.
Kelly Olynyk put the Pelicans forward 117-115 when he made a driving arrangement with 1:31 left.
Edwards and Reid missed a couple of shots before Pelicans pulled forward 119-115 with 13.6 seconds to go. Brown missed a jump shot but McCollum took an offensive rebound and Williamson ended the sequence with a layout to make it a four -point game.
Edwards missed another 3-point attempt on the next possession. Williamson took hold of Rebounde, and the Pelicans were securing to secure the victory.
New Orleans held on to a lead of 96-91 at the end of the third quarter.
Williamson and Jordan Hawkins combined for back-to-back arrangements in the last 30 seconds of the third quarter to set up the pelicans by five. New Orleans closed the third quarter on a 10-2 driving.
Pelicans led 62-61 at half.
Minnesota opened the second quarter on an 8-0 driving to take an advantage of 38-24. Donte Divincenzo lost a 3-pointer to start the score.
New Orleans exceeded Minnesota 38-23 for the rest of the second quarter to take a one-point lead at the break. It included a 14-0 run punctured by a 3-point from Hawkins.
-Field level media
