Zion Williamson damages rim on dunk attempt, causing five-minute delay in Pelicans' victory over Pacers
Maintenance staff had to adjust the rim before the start of the third quarter

When you see a delay during an NBA game this season, your mind automatically goes to the worst-case scenario: Someone tested positive for COVID, and the game's about to get postponed. Fortunately for everyone involved in the New Orleans Pelicans' 114-113 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, the game was delayed for a much more pleasant reason.
Before the start of the third quarter, the action was paused for at least five minutes, according to Nat Newell of the Indianapolis Star, while the Bankers Life Fieldhouse maintenance crew adjusted one of the baskets. What was wrong with it? Turns out Zion Williamson damaged the rim on a dunk attempt during the Pelicans' final possession of the first half.
There's a delay to the beginning of the second half because, uh well, Zion kind of broke the basket.
— FOX Sports Indiana (@FSIndiana) February 6, 2021
TV: FSI
Stream: FSGO - https://t.co/zGUpOZln7L#AlwaysGame pic.twitter.com/sAvnqoaya2
As you can see below, the dunk attempt wasn't even a three-out-of-10 on the Zion ferocity scale, but the sheer force of his muscle-bound, 284-pound frame pulling down on the rim for that extra split second was too much for the circular piece of orange metal to handle. By the way, major props to Pacers big man Goga Bitadze for putting his life in danger by challenging the dunk.
Great contest from Goga on Zion at the rim: pic.twitter.com/kXONeEqEF7
— Tony East (@TEastNBA) February 6, 2021
Perhaps Williamson felt bad about causing the delay, as he turned in a relatively poor second-half performance, scoring six points while going 0-for-3 on field goal attempts and committing three turnovers as the Pacers' bench unit played the entire fourth quarter and nearly pulled off a comeback victory. That being said, Zion finished with 18 points and five assists, continuing what has been a dominant season for the second-year forward.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft is averaging 23.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 59 percent shooting, numbers that could earn Williamson his first All-Star selection in the coming weeks. More importantly, he's playing 32.7 minutes per game and looks healthy after an injury-riddled rookie campaign.
But, with the added minutes come added risk for any and all rims in the building.
















