Playing from behind for much of the night, the Pelicans leaned heavily on Zion Williamson to lead them past the Cavaliers on the road on Sunday, 116-109.

Cleveland scored nearly 40 points in the first quarter and never trailed from the midway point of the quarter through the midway point of the final period. Unlike in other moments this season, the Pelicans closed the game out down the stretch, relying on Williamson heavily once again.

Williamson tallied 38 points on the night, Brandon Ingram had 27 and Naji Marshall had 15. Dean Wade led Cleveland with 21 points and Kevin Love and Isaac Okoro had 19 points apiece.

The Good: Zion Zion Zion

Ingram was improved on Sunday. Marshall scored 15 points and continues to establish himself as a potential rotation player and is filling a Kenrich Williams-sized heart in Pelicans fan's hearts. However, Williamson is a special, special talent. He continued to look dominant with 38 points on 16-of-22 shooting while adding nine rebounds and four assists. Williamson continued to take the lion's share of the ballhandling responsibilities and continued to flourish.

The Bad: The defense

The Cavaliers came into Sunday's game down multiple rotation players from a team that already ranked 29th in offensive rating. The Pelicans were coming off a game holding the Sixers under 100 points. And yet, Cleveland scored 39 points in the first quarter and 109 points on the night, shot 48.2% from the field. While the defense progressively got better, the Pelicans dug themselves a big hole early.

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