NBA Playoffs dispatches: Zion Williamson has his playoff moment cut short

The first round of the 2024 NBA In-Season Tournament tipped off on Tuesday with the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Lakers upsetting the No. 7 seed New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 at the Smoothie King Center. The Lakers will go on to play the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Up next, No. 9 seed Sacramento Kings will host the No. 10 seed Golden State Warriors at the Golden for a shot at the No. 8 seed. The winner will play the Pelicans on Thursday for the final playoff spot.

Here are some quick thoughts on the game from FOX Sports’ NBA reporters:

Lakers 110, Pelicans 106

What a shame for Zion Williamson.

After a masterful performance in which he had a season-high 40 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and one blocked shot in 36 minutes in the New Orleans Pelicans’ play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, he suffered an apparent leg injury with just over 3 minutes left and went to the locker room. 

At the time, the score was tied 95-95. 

WIthout Williamson, the Lakers rallied in the final minutes to clinch the seventh seed. Their consolation prize? In the first round of the playoffs, they’ll face the second-seeded Denver Nuggets, the reigning NBA champions who swept them out of the Western Conference Finals last year. 

The whole situation is a bummer for the oft-injured Williamson, who transformed his body this season en route to playing a career-high 70 games. On Tuesday, he had the most impressive performances of his career, helping the Pelicans storm back from an 18-point deficit on a major stage.

Now, the Pelicans’ season will be in jeopardy with their star player’s status currently to be determined when they play the winner of the other play-in game between the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings and the 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors  on Friday. 

As for the Lakers, they oscillated between stunning displays of defense and complete and utter discombulation, but ultimately pulled off the win behind 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists from LeBron James, 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots from Anthony Davis and 21 points from D’Angelo Russell, including five 3-pointers.

The Lakers outshot the Pelicans from the free-throw line, 29-15 and only committed eight turnovers compared to the Pelicans’ 13, enabling them to slink past being outrebounded by the Pelicans, 50-41. 

So, in summary, the Pelicans lost Zion. And the Lakers lost any hope of avoiding the Nuggets in the early rounds. 

The Winners? Us, who witnessed a play-in game for ages.

Kings vs. Warriors (10 p.m. ET)

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