In the highly anticipated debut of the Duke Basketball rookies, it was another former Blue Devil that stole the show on Las Vegas on Friday night.
You would have never known it was a NBA Summer League game.
A sold-out standing room only crowd, iso cams on Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, media coverage like you wouldn’t believe, and an earthquake delay into a postponement in the final quarter.
However, it was only just a Summer League game and Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett looked like rookies who were playing in their first professional games and that’s completely fine.
The Duke duo struggled in the opening minutes with their new teams, and it was Williamson who seemed to settle down and assert his dominance after the first media timeout with a few dunks, a highlight reel goaltending block, and then he made Kevin Knox look like an 11-year old child.
GIVE ME DAT! #SummerPelicans pic.twitter.com/gBUJ3jAEM6
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 6, 2019
As the crowd clamored for Zion in the second half, the Pelicans announced that he would not play in the final 20 minutes after taking knee-to-knee contact in the first half and New Orleans held him out due to a precaution.
Williamson finished his night with 11 points, three rebounds, and a steal, shooting 4-for-9 from the field, missing both of his attempts from 3-point range, and hitting 3-of-6 from the free throw line.
R.J. Barrett also struggled to start the game, but that did not stop the rookie from trying to find his stroke from the field.
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The Canadian star ended his night with 10 points, five rebounds, and an assist but struggled tremendously from the field, only making 4-of-18 and 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
Free throws were an issue for Barrett at Duke and that also showed, going 1-for-4 from the charity stripe.
As for the real star of the game, Frank Jackson put on an absolute show on Friday, ending his night with 30 points, three rebounds, and two blocks, drilling 11-of-17 from the field and 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
The former Duke basketball one-and-done also hit all three of his free throws.
The Knicks led by double-digits in the first half, but a major second half push by New Orleans gave the Pelicans a lead. New Orleans led 80-74 when the game was delayed, followed by the suspension.
After the higher-ups of the Las Vegas Summer League met with NBA officials, the game was called as is with New Orleans picking up the 80-74 victory.
Zion Williamson’s status for the remainder of the NBA Summer League is still unknown, but the New Orleans Pelicans are scheduled to play tomorrow, July 6, at 10:00pm EST on ESPN as the Knicks get tomorrow off and will be back on the court Sunday, July 7, at 9:30pm EST on ESPN.