Zion Williamson sworded the Minnesota Timberwolves defense all night with a career-high 43-point effort that included a nasty poster jam against Rudy Gobert.
One sequence in particular provoked Russell’s ire. With the Pelicans trailing him by two on his 116-114 with about a minute remaining in the game, Williamson finished off with a strong layup against Rudy Gobert. Russell was visibly shaken after the umpire failed to call an offensive foul on the Pelicans forward.
And to rub salt in the Timberwolves’ wounds, Zion Williamson stole a lazy pass from D’Angelo Russell on the ensuing possession, leading to the 6’6 forward’s go-ahead transition dunk. , Russell speaking to reporters expressed his dissatisfaction About Williamson’s game physicals.
“He ran through my guy and got the ball. He plays football and we play basketball. You can’t touch him or protect him. So it’s good for him.” That’s right,” said Russell.
“He ran through my guy and got the ball. He’s playing soccer and we’re playing basketball. We can’t touch him or guard him. So for him is good
D’Angelo Russell didn’t delay Wolves’ turnover to Zion Williamson 🗣pic.twitter.com/egZPW2DWLl
— Clutch Points (@ClutchPointsApp) December 29, 2022
Professional athletes are highly competitive, so losing is inevitable. Losing is hard, but losing by one point is the hardest.
Refereeing a game dominated by a strong inner presence has always been a challenge for NBA referees. Shaquille O’Neal and Giannis Antetokounmpo come to mind as dominant paint his monsters that can overwhelm opponent defenses and referees.
Nonetheless, D’Angelo Russell’s frustration may be valid, but Zion Williamson is too talented to close out his career night on the bias Timberwolves guard mentions .
Russell scored 27 points on the night, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Williamson’s dominance. Anthony Edwards missed the buzzer shot that would have given the Timberwolves the win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The Timberwolves have a chance to bounce back when they face the struggling Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.