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Timberwolves hand Pelicans 104-97 loss in Zion Williamson's return

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on

Published in Basketball

NEW ORLEANS – The Minnesota Timberwolves caught a bit of unfortunate timing in their matchup with the Pelicans. Not only was it the tail end of a back to back that began Monday in Minnesota, Zion Williamson returned from a hamstring injury for his first game since Nov. 6. But New Orleans, who was without Brandon Ingram, is having a miserable season and sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

The Wolves were able to overcome their weary legs and Williamson’s return in a 104-97 victory.

The Wolves’ new-look starting lineup got a second show as Donte DiVincenzo again started for Mike Conley. That lineup got the Wolves a second-half lead after falling behind in the minutes after halftime. Finch then went back to the old starting unit down the stretch to close the victory. The Wolves' offense struggled in that group, but it played strong defense. Rudy Gobert anchored that with six blocks. He added seven points, 14 rebounds and four assists.

Anthony Edwards, despite some mistakes down the stretch, carried the Wolves through a cold first half with 32 points. Julius Randle had 16. Dejounte Murray had 29 for New Orleans while Williamson had 22. The Wolves held the Pelicans to 37%.

Edwards hot early, few others are

The starters got the Wolves off to one of its best starts of late. The Wolves opened up leads of 16-4 and 23-10 behind hot shooting from Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who combined to open the game 6 for 7. Edwards hit four 3s in the first quarter for 14 points.

But the Pelicans chipped away at the Wolves lead later in the quarter as the Wolves got into their bench. New Orleans grabbed the lead thanks to a 20-6 run as Herb Jones put up eight in the quarter and Williamson had six. The Wolves led 34-33 after one.

Nobody outside of Edwards could hit a shot the rest of the half. In the second, the Pelicans took a small lead as some of the Wolves players went cold. Naz Reid was 1 for 8 in the first half. Jaden McDaniels was 0 for 5. The Wolves shot 40% for the half. Their only saving grace was their defense, which forced the Pelicans to shoot 35% and commit seven turnovers. All this equaled a 54-54 game at the half.

Lighting a spark

 

The Wolves fell behind quickly in the third after New Orleans opened on a 7-0 run. Finch called timeout and appeared to light into his team. That ignited an 18-2 Wolves run that put Minnesota ahead as DiVincenzo had seven points during the run. Edwards also added seven points as the Wolves took a nine-point lead.

That bounced back to two before Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit a 3 and set up Naz Reid for a dunk that pushed the score to 80-73.

The Wolves led 83-75 after the third quarter and in the fourth quarter, Finch worked through his rotations until he landed on a familiar combination – the old starting lineup. Conley once again took the floor.

Finch on New Orleans tragedy

Before the game, Finch, who spent three seasons as an assistant in New Orleans, said his “heart goes out” to everyone affected in the wake of an attack on the city’s famed Bourbon Street in the early hours of Jan. 1.

As people were celebrating New Year’s Eve, a man drove a pickup truck in a crowd, killing 14 people in the heavily-populated party district.

“It’s such a unique place, the culture, the flavor, the tradition, and the people are super resilient and always have the same positive and bright outlook,” Finch said. “They’ll get through this like they always do. But our hearts are with everybody here. Usually when you come to the city here, it has a very happy vibe. This time, obviously it feels a little different and rightfully so.”

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©2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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