The New Orleans Pelicans returned to action following the All-Star Break with a 111-103 road loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. Despite failing to come out on top, Williamson put together an impressive performance, earning the respect of head coach Willie Green.
Williamson led the Pelicans in scoring with 29 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 11-of-15 from the field. The star forward played with an intensity that Green was pleased with. Green also mentioned some areas the Pelicans could have performed better in.
“He’s been awesome,” Green said. “Driving to the basket, getting to the free-throw line, finding his teammates. We all have to do a better job of sharing the basketball. We had 16 assists in the first half and only ended the game with 25.
“Their defense did stagnate us some, but we have to search for quality shots and I thought there was times throughout the game we took some tough ones. Those are the ones if you could get those back, get quality looks, you can set your defense and be even better.”
Green described what allowed the Mavericks to take control late in the game and close things out.
“They switched a ton of our screens trying to slow us down, slow our pace down,” Green said. “Highly competitive game, just came down to the start of the fourth quarter they went on a run. We were able to close the gap some, but down the stretch they made plays. They made some shots, we missed some. That’s an area that we have to continue to look at and work on as we progress.”
The Pelicans return to action on Sunday when they host the San Antonio Spurs at 6 p.m. CT.
Pelicans’ Willie Green pleased with Kelly Olynyk
The New Orleans Pelicans added Kelly Olynyk as part of their exchange with the Toronto Raptors that sent Brandon Ingram up north.
Olynyk made his debut with the Pelicans in Friday night’s loss against the Dallas Mavericks. He finished with four points, three rebounds and three assists. Despite not posting eye-popping numbers, Green thinks Olynyk could be a valuable part of the team.
“He was good,” Green said. “His first game with us, he’s been out for a while. He’s knocking off some rust. Different lineups out there tonight, we’re getting used to the personnel. I thought there was some positives we can take from this game, hopefully carry it over into practices and the rest of the season.”
Olynyk will aim to hit his stride with the Pelicans as they look for things to build on heading into next season.
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