The New Orleans Pelicans just handed the Milwaukee Bucks their second straight loss in a row. The Pelicans came out on top with a 107-100 win over the Bucks. Zion Williamson led the way for New Orleans once again despite a strong outing by Giannis Antetokounmpo. After the game, Williamson was asked about a blocking foul that was called on him, leading him to express his disappointment with grace.
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The 107-100 win by the Pelicans over the Bucks saw Zion Williamson and Giannis Antetokounmpo go head-to-head throughout the game. Both forwards gave fans a show worth their money with the New Orleans Pelicans coming with the win in the end. However, despite this, Williamson was upset with something that happened in the contest.
During the game, Williamson tried to draw a charging foul when Giannis drove to the rim. But instead of calling a foul against Antetokounmpo, the officials decided to penalize Zion with a blocking foul.
After the game, the Duke product was asked about this specific play. Answering the question, Williamson kept his calm despite not agreeing with the call and gave a graceful answer while not trying to criticize the officiating in front of the media.
“I think the refs did the best they could with the call. I mean, I fully agree with it but I thought I was there. That might have been my first charge since I was like 12. They took it away from me. That was crazy.”
It is commendable for the 23-year-old to take a call going against him so sportingly. After all, players’ being open about their criticism of the officials has become a rather common phenomenon off late. However, while he handled it very well in front of the media, the referee’s call going against him on the play in question has got to sting. After all, not only was this the first time
Giannis Antetokounmpo was not enough for Zion and the Pelicans
Zion Williamson was a menace for the Milwaukee Bucks’ defense throughout four quarters. The 6’6 forward went toe-to-toe with Giannis Antetokounmpo and came away with 28 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 crucial block in the end, per NBA.com. The two-time All-Star had the Bucks defense in penalty most of the time as he shot a total of 16 free throws, making 10 of them. But what was even more impressive was the fact that Antetokounmpo had a great game too.
The Greek Freak finished the night with 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists for the game, per StatMuse. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t enough for the Bucks to come away with the win, marking it their second straight loss after dropping the double-overtime game to the Lakers in their previous outing.
With this win, the Pelicans are closing in on the fourth-seeded Clippers team. It would be interesting to see how the Western Conference’s standing turns out by the end of this season.
