Zion Williamson did his part on Wednesday night. The problem was everything around him.
The Pelicans had clawed all the way back from 22 points down and were within six entering the fourth quarter, but when the game tightened against Denver, New Orleans again turned to a backcourt that couldn’t deliver. Dejounte Murray and Jeremiah Fears combined for 21 points on 9-of-25 shooting, and the finish was ugly from there in a 104-91 loss that dropped the Pelicans to 0-4.
Williamson was sharp early, hitting seven of eight shots in the first half. But his role shrank as the game wore on.
He took just six shots after halftime and attempted only two in the fourth quarter, making both. One of those was New Orleans’ lone three-pointer of the period.
The bigger issue was how little the offense got from its guards when the Pelicans needed a steady hand. Fears has gone 0-9 from the floor in fourth quarters this season, including 0-4 from three.
He has actually taken more fourth-quarter shots than Trey Murphy, who is 2-for-6 in those situations. Murray leads the team in fourth-quarter attempts, but he has not made a three in the period and has more turnovers than assists there.
That pattern has carried into clutch time, too. Through New Orleans’ first three games, Murray was 3-for-11 from the floor in those minutes.
Murphy was 1-for-1. Williamson was 3-for-7.
All three were averaging 5.7 minutes in clutch situations before Wednesday night.
The Pelicans’ shot distribution was a mess even before the final minutes. Murray, Fears, and Saddiq Bey took 25, 14, and 10 shots respectively, while Williamson finished 10-for-14 and the rest of the team went 24-for-68. New Orleans ended with 20 assists and 19 turnovers, and its starting guards accounted for eight assists, five turnovers, and nine made baskets between them.
Williamson’s value wasn’t just in making shots. He kept putting pressure on Denver by drawing contact.
Over the four games, he is shooting 54.5% in fourth quarters and has made 11 of 12 free throws there. Those trips to the line are the kind of scoring chances New Orleans hasn’t been generating enough of for anyone else.
Murphy’s night was another quiet one from a volume standpoint. He attempted just seven shots, fewer than he had in any game last season, and one of those was a fourth-quarter try. He also had only four shots against Utah, giving him two games below 10 shots after having only four such games in 66 appearances a season ago.
The Pelicans’ comeback from that early 37-18 hole actually gave them a chance. They outscored Denver 55-42 over the middle periods and finished the third on a 9-0 run.
But once the game reached its deciding stretch, the offense stalled again. New Orleans managed 18 points in the fourth and finished that period 6-for-16 from the field and 1-of-5 from deep.
Mosley stayed with a closing group of Murray, Murphy, Bey, Williamson, and Derik Queen, even as Denver pulled away. With 6:59 left, that five was on the floor and the Pelicans trailed 88-80. By the time 2:16 remained, Denver led 101-89 and New Orleans had scored just nine points in nearly five minutes.
Denver did its damage through the perimeter. Christian Braun scored nine points in the fourth, Jamal Murray added seven, and Aaron Gordon chipped in three. Nikola Jokic did not score in the period, but the Nuggets still made five of 10 three-pointers after missing all six of their attempts in the third.
New Orleans has now lost two different ways in back-to-back settings: it couldn’t hold a lead in Denver, and it couldn’t finish a comeback at home. The Pelicans also entered Wednesday after late-game struggles against Indiana and Utah.
Murray and Fears need to do more than shoot better. They have to help Williamson and Murphy get cleaner looks when the game is on the line. Mosley has that responsibility, too.
On Wednesday, Williamson made both of his fourth-quarter shots. Murphy took one.
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