Watch: Williamson reacts furiously to play that nearly injures him

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson. Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Zion Williamson reacts furiously to play that nearly injures him

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/4/24

Zion Williamson was visibly upset over a play that nearly injured him on Wednesday night.

The play in question took place in the third quarter against the Magic when Gary Harris tried to swipe the ball from Williamson but ended up diving at his leg, causing the Pelicans star to topple to the hardwood.

Pelicans announcers immediately labeled the play as "dangerous" and wondered why the officials didn't call a flagrant foul on Harris.

Williamson himself showed a lot of emotion as he got up and seemingly demanded an explanation from Orlando's players.

Thankfully, Williamson didn't get hurt and Harris, to his credit, apologized to the Duke product by striking his chest with a "my bad" gesture.

Willie Green was IRATE after Gary Harris dove at Zion Williamson’s legs.

Harris was assessed a common foul on the play. pic.twitter.com/Y9OpiIsdC2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 4, 2024

After watching a replay of the sequence, Pelicans announcer Antonio Daniels was even more furious that the referees didn't penalize Harris.

"You dove at this knee, not even going for the steal. How do you not take a look at this?" the former NBA player fumed. "This is a Flagrant 1. This is just as bad as a poor closeout or landing on someone's knee."

During the postgame presser, Pelicans star CJ McCollum came to the defense of Harris.

New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum on the play between Gary Harris and Zion Williamson:

“It looked dirty but I know [Gary], we all know [Gary]. He’s not a dirty player, but it looked bad. I fouled Suggs, I’m sure it looked bad but we all just tryna compete and tryna win” pic.twitter.com/K4kDmmL1UK
— Fawzan Amer (@FawzanAmer_) April 4, 2024

While he came away unscathed from the play, Williamson left in the fourth quarter with a finger injury and did not return.

New Orleans would lose the game 117-108, falling to the seventh seed in the topsy-turvy Western Conference less than 10 days after climbing to the fourth.

The Pelicans have gone 3-4 since losing Brandon Ingram to a knee injury. The last thing they need is for Williamson to also be sidelined during the homestretch of the season.

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