Watch: Pelicans' Zion Williamson shows up big in the play-in

In the Pelicans’ loss to the Lakers Sunday, Williamson had just 12 points. While he grabbed eight rebounds and dished eight assists, he wasn’t a factor in the blowout loss. In their in-season tournament semifinal, he had 13 points and two rebounds in a 44-point loss.

Williamson asserted himself early in the battle for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. He dunked on a pass from Brandon Ingram early, then went around LeBron James and Anthony Davis to get another bucket.

At the end of the second quarter, Williamson went the length of the court to beat the halftime buzzer.

This all happened in the same game TNT’s Reggie Miller made the outlandish claim that the 6-foot-6 Williamson was only “6-foot-3, 6-foot-4.”

He also showed off his much-improved defense with a big block on LeBron. Unfortunately, he missed on the other end, and a cherry-picking James got a dunk anyway.

That’s the problem with playing James and the Lakers. Williamson went for 20 points in the first half and New Orleans still trailed by double digits. With the Lakers keying on the young star, it’s Zion’s teammates who need to show up in the second half.