The LA Lakers faced the New Orleans Pelicans in a thrilling play-in tournament matchup last night. The Lakers triumphed 106-110, however, there was one player whose performance, suffice to say, stole the show. Pelicans’ power forward, Zion Williamson‘s dominant run was a standout despite the team’s loss. Furthermore, there was one moment during the match between Williamson and LeBron James that spoke of the former’s stature, fitting well with analyst Colin Cowher’s remark.

Colin Cowherd on his recent podcast episode, spoke about Williamson’s performance for the evening and beyond. Cowherd said, “He’s a weight mismatch and power mismatch oftentimes…If he gets a mismatch, it’s over.” And it was on display last night, with Williamson taking full advantage of his size and strength. Zion Williamson played for 36 minutes and scored a game-high 40 points and was involved in 11 rebounds and 5 assists. But his dominance wasn’t just limited to scoring points.

During the 3rd quarter of the match with over ten minutes remaining on the clock, Williamson went for a dunk, causing a charging LeBron James to launch backwards. This is the moment, that examples Cowherd’s further claims. In his words, “He’s [Williamson] is coming downhill, dribbling into the lane, it’s over. LeBron is six eight and a half, six nine… took charge from Zion and crumpled like a deck chair. LeBron just crashed onto the floor.” 

Williamson’s unintentional push also proved Stephen A Smith’s narrative wrong. Stephen A. Smith criticized Williamson for his struggles against LeBron James a few days ago on a show. Smith claimed that ‘whenever Williamson faces James, it’s like panic sets in, rendering the young star paralyzed.’ He also claimed, “It’s like LeBron hypnotizes him or something,” causing him to underperform. But Williamson’s performance tonight was contrasting to it.

Road ahead for Lakers and Pelicans

The Los Angeles Lakers won the match by a 4 point margin and successfully secured the spot in the playoffs seeded 7th. They will now face the Denver Nuggets in Play off round 1 on Saturday night, against whom they have lost 8 straight times. Pelicans, on the other hand, who lost the match will now face the Sacramento Kings on Friday night who secured a 118-94 win against the Warriors in 9th vs 10th clash last night.

While the Lakers look to battle their formidable rivals and break the streak, Pelicans face concern with Zion Williamson’s injury. The power forward, who has proven crucial, exited the game in the final minutes due to a non-contact injury which was later reported to be ham-string. However, the Pelicans have defeated the Kings 0-5 this season, finishing 30 points and higher twice. With Malik Monk out for the latter and numbers agreeable, Pelicans hold favorable chances. If they win, they face the OKC Thunder, 1st seeded, in the first round-up.

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