Zion Williamson’s dunks can shatter glass, break rims and start fights. Friday night, he wished one dunk could change the past.
In a game that was just about over, the Pelicans star pulled off a 360, windmill dunk with 1.9 seconds left to punctuate a victory over the Suns and begin a shoving match between the two teams.
The Suns knocked the Pelicans out of the playoffs last season in six games, a series Williamson missed with a foot injury.
“That was a little out of character for me,” Williamson told reporters of his dunk after the 128-117 win in New Orleans. “But you’ve got to understand, I mean, you can understand it or not. They sent my teammates home last year.
“I missed all last year. I got carried away a little bit. I admit that. But you know, I was in that locker room when my brothers were down because the Suns sent us home last year. That’s a tough moment to be a part of. So in that moment, I got carried away. I admit that. … If they were to do the same thing, I wouldn’t have no problem with it.”
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The Suns had plenty of problems with Williamson’s throw-down. The teams converged near half-court, with notable jawing between Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Phoenix’s Chris Paul. A rivalry was born in the playoffs series, when Paul butchered Alvarado’s name and Alvarado later declared, “he knows my name now,” after he frustrated him defensively in the series.
After Friday’s win, which kept the Pelicans in first in the Western Conference, Alvarado — who had been questionable for the game with a rib contusion — indicated he could not have missed the matchup, and he appeared to refuse to say Paul’s name.
“I wasn’t sitting out, 100 percent,” Alvarado told reporters. “Not to care about anybody else, but if that person plays, I’m playing.”
The Pelicans host the Suns again on Sunday.
