DETROIT — Zion Williamson scored 36 points and led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 114-101 victory over the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
Williamson shot 13 of 14 from the floor and 10 of 14 from the line in 36 minutes. He added seven rebounds and six assists and received applause from the Little Caesars Arena crowd when he left the game with 1:20 remaining.
“He was able to do it about halfway through the first quarter, and we were just going to go for it,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “That’s why I only took him out that second.”
Williamson became the third player in the last 20 years to score 35 points without a 3-point basket and with fewer than 15 field goal attempts. Dwyane Wade did it in 2005 and 2006, and Dwight Howard accomplished the feat in 2013.
“I know my teammates and my coaches trust me,” said Williamson, who had four points against Miami on Friday. “I wasn’t tripping because of that match. Coming into this game I just wanted to get the win and that’s what we did.
CJ McCollum scored 23 points for the Pelicans (44-27), who have won five of six.
The Pistons played without four of their five starters. Cade Cunningham (knee), Jalen Duren (back), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness) missed the game, and sixth man Simone Fontecchio (toe) was also sidelined. Jaden Ivey was the only player available to score over 500 points this season.
Chimezu Metu and Malachi Flynn each scored 17 points for Detroit (12-59), which lost its sixth straight defeat. Ivey added 16 points and Buddy Boeheim recorded a career-high 13. The Pistons need four wins in their final 11 games to avoid surpassing the franchise record of 66 losses.
“Our guys believed they could play with the Pelicans,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “They went out there and gave us a chance to compete. Zion is just a liability when he plays downhill.
New Orleans led 57-41 after two periods and did just enough to prevent the Pistons from mounting a significant rally in the second half.
The Pistons’ patchwork offense struggled to score. In the first quarter, Detroit shot 21.1% (4 of 19) from the floor, including 0 of 10 from 3-point range, en route to a season-low 10 points. New Orleans managed more points thanks to turnovers (11) and led by 19 points heading into the second quarter.
“We just flipped it,” Williams said. “We had eight or nine in the first quarter. The ball didn’t stick and we played in the crowd.
Boeheim tied his career high with eight points in the second quarter and the Pistons trailed by 16 points at the break.
FOLLOWING
Pelicans: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Pistons: At the New York Knicks on Monday.
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