Zion Williamson spoiled the party for the Boston Celtics’ fans who has come in to witness their team play ever since the pandemic. Williamson knocked 28 to lead the New Orleans Pelicans over the Boston Celtics 115-109. The away side almost spilled up a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, yet somehow managed to hold on to a victory against all odds.
Brandon Ingram score 25 points for the Pelicans. Josh Hart had 15 points and 15 rebounds for his team, who won for the fourth time in five games. Williamson has averaged 34.4 points over that span, including 39 and 38 in back-to-back games previously.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram combine for Pelicans to see off Celtics
Playing without All-Star Jaylen Brown, who missed the game with a bruised left hip, the Celtics led by two early in the third and still trailed by only five with a minute left in the quarter. But Williamson drove for one layup to finish the third and two more to start the fourth, part of a 14-3 run that gave New Orleans a double-digit lead.
The Pelicans had a 110-94 edge with four minutes left before Boston scored 13 in a row, making it 110-107 on Tatum’s step-back 3 with 51 seconds left.
Having said that, A masked crowd of 2,298, officially a sellout at the state-mandated limit of 12% of the TD Garden capacity cheered the Celtics, waved signs and shouted profane taunts at the referees.
“Seeing fans occasionally on the road but not here, I’d say it was pretty emotional for me,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “It signals maybe if we can buckle down and get through it, we can have something close to normal.”
Also Read: Miami Heat snap a 6-game losing streak against New York Knicks
