New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson left their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers early Monday night due to a hamstring injury.
While it’s unclear how severe Williamson’s injury is at this point — coach Willie Green said he only knew that it was Williamson’s right hamstring after the game, nothing more — it comes amid an impressive stretch of play from Williamson and the Pelicans.
“It was right at a pivotal moment in the game,” Green said of the injury, via ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “We’ll get some imaging and look at him and hopefully he’s OK. It was a tough loss for us.”
Williamson went down in the third quarter shortly after grabbing a defensive rebound. Williamson tried to push the ball up the court, but suddenly pulled up and started grabbing at his right leg as he quickly handed the ball off.
Williamson then checked out of the game after a foul on the other end, and didn’t return. He finished the night with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds while shooting 10-of-12 from the field.
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 42 points and 11 rebounds in the 120-111 Philadelphia win, while James Harden added 27. The 76ers have now won 10 of their last 12.
Williamson is averaging 29.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in his past 10 games for the Pelicans, who sit just one game back from first place in the Western Conference. After missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with a foot injury and significant time in his first two professional seasons, Williamson has played in 29 of a possible 37 games this season — missing games only due to minor injuries or in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
It’s unknown how long Williamson will be out, if at all. Yet given his injury history and the fact that it’s still early January, there’s no real reason to rush him back. The Pelicans will host the Houston Rockets next on Wednesday before games against the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks on Friday and Saturday, respectively.