Zion Williamson went off as he led the New Orleans Pelicans to a crucial 112-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. Of his 34 points on the night, one particular layup made fans go wild.
The Pelicans (40-26) faced a Clippers team (42-24) with play-off implications on the line. Only three games separated the No. 4 seeded Clippers from the No. 5 seeded Pelicans prior to tip-off.
Zion Williamson had two elite defenders in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to fend off as he looked to narrow the gap between the Pelicans and the Clippers in the standings and strive for home court advantage.
The game was knotted at 80-80 with time winding down in the third quarter. Then, the former NBA No. 1 overall pick took flight and did something few athletes in the league are capable of achieving.
Zion Williamson goes “Air” Jordan with unreal layup
Williamson got the ball off of the inbound pass after the Clippers tied the game. Having only 3.5 seconds to go the length of the floor, the Duke product blew by Leonard and Amir Coffey as he reached his own three-point line.
Williamson then deferred from pulling up for a midrange jumper with 1.4 seconds to go. Instead, he jumped from the free-throw line, contorted his body and finished an acrobatic layup over George as time expired. The unbelievable layup had Pelicans fans hyped on social media afterward.
Just realized zion jumped FROM THE FREETHROW LINE lmaooo dude is not real https://t.co/u9PGiXs1OH
— Ryan Jatho (@RyanTalksHoops) March 16, 2024
One X user, (@thunder-teams) hilariously used NFL legend Michael Irvin’s riled-up reaction to the Cowboys to express his hype for the amazing play:
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In the 3.5 seconds. His mentality! pic.twitter.com/g4TZ3IrUtg
— üstün (@thunder_teams) March 16, 2024
@KevinF3394 how many players could do this at his size in league history?
— Michael Hoffman (@mhof314) March 16, 2024
Williamson rode the momentum into the fourth quarter. After bringing the Smoothie King Center to their feet, the 23-year-old forward finished with seven points in the final 12 minutes of action.
His hook shot with 6:07 to go quieted L.A. after they brought the game to within four. This allowed New Orleans to extend their lead and close out the big win.
Williamson added to his 34-point outing with seven rebounds and four assists on an impressive 14-21 shooting from the floor.
After getting clowned for his weight and dealing with resurfaced “bust” labels this season, the two-time All-Star proved that he’s still an elite force in the league. He also put more in the imagination of NBA fans awaiting his potential Dunk Contest participation in 2025.
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