Zion Williamson stats tonight: How did the Pelicans star fare against the Nuggets? (Feb. 3)

On Monday, the Denver Nuggets defeated Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans 125-113 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

Williamson finished with just 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He also had six rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes. Monday's loss marked Williamson's 14th game this season. He has missed 36 of New Orleans' 50 games this season. The Pelicans lost its sixth consecutive game and dropped to 12-38, the third-worst in the NBA so far.

Trey Murphy III tied his career-high 41 points to lead New Orleans, while C.J. McCollum added 30 points. Williamson was the only other Pelican in double figures. On the other end, Michael Porter scored 36 points for Denver, who had six players in double figures. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had another triple-double performance. He finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Williamson scored 29 points in his previous appearance for the Pelicans — a 137-136 loss to the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. In 28 minutes, he also had six rebounds and seven assists on 11-for-18 shooting (61.1%). Due to a stomach bug, he sat out New Orleans' two-point loss to the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics on Friday, 118-116.

Despite being limited by injuries, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft leads his team in scoring, averaging 23.6 points in 13 games this season. He also averages career highs of 8.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists. The Pelicans have three more players averaging more than 20 points a game: Brandon Ingram (22.2), Murphy (22.1), and McCollum (21.9).

On Monday, Williamson scored only five points in the first half. He played 14 minutes as his team was 18 down against the Nuggets at halftime, 68-50.

In the second half, Williamson scored just nine points as the Pelicans struggled to make a comeback. He also had four rebounds and five assists in the second half.

Zion Williamson stats tonight

Players	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Zion Williamson	14	6	5	1	1	1	5-13	0-0	4-6	1

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Zion Williamson shares thoughts on Pelicans' decision

New Orleans star Zion Williamson took a shot at his team's decision not to play him in back-to-back games this season.

According to the forward, his team's approach is based on numbers. In addition to preventing him from playing on consecutive nights, the Pelicans also imposed a minutes restriction.

"Physically, yes I can," Williamson said. "But I work for the Pelicans. They have decided that based off the numbers, it’s not smart to do that right now."

Zion Williamson's injury history has made the Pelicans (12-38) cautious with his playing time. However, last season, Williamson played the most games (70) of his young career. He led New Orleans to the Play-In Tournament, but his campaign was halted due to a hamstring injury.