Coming off bench against Jazz

Zion Williamson highlighted a 24-point, 14-rebound performance with an array of thunderous dunks during a dominant fourth-quarter stint, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night to open a two-game set.

It does not require a deep understanding of basketball or advanced analytics to see how much different Zion Williamson and the New Orleans ... while role players such as Jose Alvarado, Javonte Green and Daniel Theis have greatly improved the bench ...

The quartet of Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy gets most of the credit for the three-game winning streak the New Orleans Pelicans will bring to the

Jayson Tatum scored 38 points with 11 rebounds and Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 11 boards as the Boston Celtics overcame the return of Zion Williamson to the New Orleans lineup and beat the Pelicans 120-119.

It was a short-handed Southwestern Division matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, as Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Herb Jones were among the key players out on both sides.

New Orleans submitted an identical Tuesday injury report to what it listed prior to Monday’s win over Utah, with Yves Missi and Zion Williamson both questionable ... Utah Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Javonte Green, Trey Murphy, Daniel Theis Season ...

The New Orleans Pelicans have been playing better since welcoming Zion Williamson back to the lineup, but remain in last place in the Western Conference standin

Green will move to the first unit due to the absence of Zion Williamson (rest). The former Radford standout will make his 14th start of the campaign. He's averaging 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game when deployed with the first unit.

The Pelicans took an 87-78 lead into the fourth quarter when Alvarado drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer. They stretched the lead to 94-83 on an Alvarado assist to Theis, who finished the play with a slam. Hawkins’ four-point play with 6:49 left boosted the Pelicans' lead to 105-92.

The New Orleans Pelicans reportedly have interest in moving one of their veterans, but it isn't who you might think.

Zion Williamson (illness) is questionable for Wednesday’s ... If the 24-year-old power forward is out once again, Javonte Green would be in line for another spot start. Trey Murphy accumulated 24 points (6-of-15 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), seven rebounds, two ...