New Orleans takes on the Memphis Grizzlies after CJ McCollum scored 45 points in the Pelicans' 123-119 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz.

NEW ORLEANS — Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been ruled out for Friday night's game at the Memphis Grizzlies. Williamson sat out Monday night's victory over Utah with a non-COVID illness and New Orleans announced on Thursday that he would remain out on Friday “due to return to play reconditioning from illness.”

The Pelicans trailed by 25 points before rallying, mostly behind McCollum, to win their fourth straight and seventh in the last 10. It's been an incredible midseason turnaround for New Orleans, which has gone 12-32 while battling through a rash of key injuries and illnesses.

Zion Williamson has been ruled out for Friday night's Pelicans-Grizzlies game "due to return to play reconditioning from illness."

Star Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson's injury status has been updated ahead of the Grizzlies game on Friday.

Ja Morant left Friday's Memphis Grizzlies game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the third quarter and went to the locker room. Morant fell to the floor at Smoothie King Center after a hard ...

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Fitting in with the Grizzlies in general has not been a problem though. The only headaches are the type every organization expects with a new face at the facilities. Finding the right spots on the court has been more of an adjustment than joining a new team with an unfamiliar playbook.

That is where the Grizzlies' success ended, as the Hornets came out after the break blazing. Charlotte outscored Memphis 72-54 in the second half, cutting the deficit tremendously but luckily the Grizzlies gave themselves enough of a cushion.

After a stretch of 11 games against playoff contenders in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies took care of business relatively easy against the Charlotte Hornets. Hot shooting from Luke Kennard and strong defense against Hornets star LaMelo lifted Memphis to a 132-120 win inside FedExForum.

The Memphis Grizzlies had opened a 30-point lead by half-time, but were outscored by Charlotte Hornets 72-54 in the second half and just managed to scrape the win