Zion Williamson scores 14 in his return from injury in the Pelicans’ 125-118 loss to Denver

NEW ORLEANS AP Zion Williamson returned to the New Orleans Pelicans lineup on Wednesday night scoring points in a - loss to the Denver Nuggets Williamson played minutes after missing eight games with a strained left hamstring He also had six rebounds five assists a steal and a blocked shot He was great He got us off to a really good start Pelicans interim coach James Borrego commented referring to the Pelicans - first-quarter lead More than anything just having Zion out there for our spirit as a crew as a city as an organization is phenomenal Borrego revealed We feel like we ve got a shot every night when he s on the floor Borrego mentioned his staff was mindful of Williamson s minutes and didn t want to overexert him in his first action since Nov He looked good He looked impressive Borrego noted The match plan was built around him and he was a willing passer tonight They displayed him bodies He generated a lot of quality shots for us tonight Williamson declined to speak with reporters after the contest Rookie Derik Queen who started opposite Nuggets star Nikola Jokic at center was New Orleans leading scorer with a career-high points and nine assists Queen stated his output stemmed in no small part from the attention Denver defenders were paying to Williamson and high-scoring wing Trey Murphy III Z s presence and Murph s presence is huge because they re and out there Queen announced They just trust me to play my competition and try to make all the right decisions The Pelicans - won two games after Williamson first went out of the lineup but have since lost seven straight Williamson who also missed a encounter earlier this season with a foot injury has now played in six of the Pelicans first games averaging points and rebounds Entering Wednesday Williamson the No pick out of Duke in had played in of regular-season games in his NBA career AP NBA https apnews com hub nba Source