1:49 AM ET
Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Pelicans guardant Zion Williamson took 2 dribbles toward the rim and pulled disconnected a 360 windmill dunk to extremity Friday night's crippled against the Phoenix Suns successful style.
Some Suns players took objection to Williamson's slam, which happened with 1.9 seconds near to enactment the Pelicans up by double-digits. As the timepiece expired successful New Orleans' 128-117 win, tempers flared arsenic some benches cleared onto the court.
Pelicans defender Jose Alvarado, Suns guards Cameron Payne and Chris Paul and coaching staffs from some teams met adjacent halfway tribunal earlier squad information helped to abstracted some teams.
"The crippled was beauteous overmuch implicit and they conscionable kept playing," Payne said. "I felt similar determination was conscionable nary sportsmanship and we don't truly similar that. We bash the close thing. I felt similar they should've done the close happening and they didn't. We didn't instrumentality it good and we don't similar to suffer either. The crippled was over, nary changeable clock. They tin clasp the ball."
Pelicans defender CJ McCollum, erstwhile asked astir Payne's postgame remarks, gave a elemental answer.
"They gotta get backmost connected defence if they don't privation america to dunk the ball," McCollum said. "Get backmost connected defense."
Friday night's crippled was the 2nd of the play betwixt the Pelicans and Suns, who met successful the first-round of the playoffs past season, with Phoenix winning successful six games.
Williamson wasn't disposable for that bid due to the fact that of a breached ft that wiped retired his full year. He said the playoff nonaccomplishment to the Suns played a portion successful wherefore helium went up for that last dunk.
"That was a small retired of quality for me," Williamson said. "But you've got to understand, I mean, you tin recognize it oregon not. They sent my teammates location past year.
"I missed each past year. I got carried distant a small bit. I admit that. But you know, I was successful that locker country erstwhile my brothers were down due to the fact that the Suns sent america location past year. That's a pugnacious infinitesimal to beryllium a portion of. So successful that moment, I got carried away. I admit that. ... If they were to bash the aforesaid thing, I wouldn't person nary occupation with it."
There won't beryllium overmuch of a interruption betwixt the teams either. The Pelicans big the Suns again connected Sunday afternoon.
While it was the Pelicans and Suns 2nd gathering of the season, it was the archetypal for Williamson, who missed the archetypal crippled connected Oct. 28 with little back/right hep soreness.
Pelicans guardant Larry Nance said helium didn't deliberation Williamson's dunk itself was what caused the benches to clear, but much of the emotions of the game.
"I deliberation it was conscionable 1 of those things. You got a batch of precocious level, precocious testosterone athletes retired determination and guys that are large and strong," Nance said. "I'm gladsome it got separated earlier thing anserine happened."
Williamson finished with a season-high 35 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for the Pelicans, who improved to 17-8, tied for the champion grounds successful franchise past done 25 games (2002-03 and 2003-04). It besides enactment them a crippled up for the champion grounds successful the Western Conference implicit Memphis and 1.5 up connected Phoenix.
While the Pelicans and Suns play again successful New Orleans connected Sunday, they'll wrapper up the regular-season bid connected Dec. 17 erstwhile the teams conscionable erstwhile again successful Phoenix.
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