Willie Green on Zion Williamson's injury, tough loss | Pelicans vs. Lakers Play-in 4/16/24
Pelicans Head Coach Willie Green
On the emotions of tonight’s game:
“Obviously, tough loss for us. The guys battled, I’m extremely proud of that group – how they fought, they hung in there. We got back in the game by just simply upping our physicality, keeping them out of our paint, and we fell short in the end. That’s the disappointing part, but, we got to feel this one tonight and regroup and get ready for another one.”
On not having Zion in the last few minutes of the game:
“It was tough to see him go down. We’re all praying and hoping that he is ok. He was battling, he was going, and the team was right there with him.”
On Zion’s performance in his first postseason game:
“He was fantastic. He settled into the game, he continued to attack, he found seams, he rebounded the ball. When he’s attacking like that, he’s a tough matchup for anybody. We have him for a few more minutes, we have a chance to pull this thing out.”
Pelicans Forward Larry Nance Jr.
On tonight’s Play-In loss to the Lakers:
“It’s a tough one. Obviously, this is a game where we wanted to win on our home court against them [Los Angeles Lakers], but all we can do is recoup and go again on Friday. That’s all we can do.”
On getting two days rest before the second Play-In game:
“Two days is great. Obviously, it’s been a long season, and I think it’s good for both teams that they [the NBA] didn’t have it Thursday. Like I said, this one hurt, but all we can do is go back to the drawing board and get this one Friday.”
Trey Murphy III on energy shift, Zion Williamson | Pelicans vs. Lakers Play-In 4/16/24
Pelicans Forward Trey Murphy III
On how tough it was to lose Zion Williamson at the end of the game after his 40-point performance:
“It’s tough obviously. Especially with all the work he has put in this season, he has a career-high in games that he has played throughout his entire career. You wish the best for him, and it definitely sucks.”
On the mindset going into Friday night’s contest against either the Kings or Warriors:
“You can definitely look at the film, but it’s a do-or-die game. Whoever we play, they are going to come in with the mentality that it can be their last game of the season so they are going to play as hard as they can. Obviously, you can look at the film, but we have to be prepared for a dogfight."
