- Williamson finished the game with 33 points, eight rebounds and four assists
- He also said that Wembanyama can win multiple awards in his career
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New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson hit a game-winning shot over Victor Wembanyama and two other defensemen to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-113 on Friday.
After the game, Williamson took some time to praise the Spurs rookie while speaking to reporters.
“Vic is a very special player, we were just talking about it in the dressing room,” he said. “He’s a guy who can get two or three Defensive Player of the Years and I don’t want to put a limit on it, but he can get Defensive Player of the Year and MVPs…
‘We haven’t seen anything like this yet. We’ve seen things up close, but not like this. I mean, he’s a great player and I think especially with Pop (Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich) there, he’ll continue to develop.”
However, as special as Wembanyama is, he encountered difficulties in his attempts to keep Williamson quiet all night.
Pelicans star Zion Williamson (right) praised Victor Wembanyama (left) after beating Spurs
Williamson hit a game-winning layup against the Spurs and finished the game with 33 points
Williamson finished the game with 33 points, eight rebounds and four assists, on top of the game-winning layup.
“I don’t know how he made it,” New Orleans guard Jose Alvarado said. ‘He’s going down at full speed. Three guys at his house, going full speed. Wembie was there. That was one of the boys. Great shot blocker and he still shoots high off the glass.”
Williamson shot 12 for 21 from the field and had four points in the final 29 seconds as New Orleans won its second straight and finished the road trip 2-2.
Wembanyama had blocked Williamson twice before, but the 2019 No. 1 pick out of New Orleans wasn’t about to let this year’s top selection do it again. Williamson attacked Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell and stayed one step ahead of Wembanyama.
“I just trust my game,” Williamson said. ‘In that situation, transition, I can very well go downhill.’
CJ McCollum added 21 points and Brandon Ingram had 19 for the Pelicans.
Devin Vassell had 28 points but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for San Antonio.
He also called Wembanyama ‘a very special player’ who could go on to win several trophies
Jeremy Sochan finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, Wembanyama added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Tre Jones had 20 points for the Spurs.
San Antonio is 2-4 entering Saturday’s finals of a seven-game homestand against Cleveland. The Spurs open their annual three-week road trip in Miami on Wednesday as the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo takes over the Frost Bank Center.
San Antonio was unable to overcome 18 turnovers, including three on the inbounds play.