Zion Williamson returned to the field Tuesday night after missing 27 games with a hamstring strain.

It was a welcome sight for New Orleans Pelicans fans, and there were highlight-reel dunks. But it didn’t result in a win for the Pelicans.

There was no sign of rust for Williamson, who put on a show in front of his home crowd in New Orleans. But Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves to a 104-97 win. The loss dropped the Pelicans to 7-30 in an injury-plagued season.

The good news for New Orleans is that Williamson appeared fully recovered, posting 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He also led the game with three dunks, one of which wouldn’t have been out of place in a dunk contest.

Zion puts on a show

Williamson got on the court early with a putback after a missed layup by Herbert Jones. His second bucket was one for the highlight reel. Williamson dominated the court on a break and intercepted a long lob from CJ McCollum on the baseline, who hit a two-handed alley-oop slam to cut the Pelicans’ early deficit to 16-8.

But he saved his best for the second half. At halftime the score was 54-54 for the Pelicans, then they scored the first three shots of the third quarter. Two of them were Williamson dunks, the first of which was Williamson all alone in transition after picking Edwards’ pocket.

He made the most of the moment with a 360 tomahawk slam.

Midway through the quarter, the Pelicans extended their lead to 64-56. But the Timberwolves took control from there and led the entire fourth quarter, thanks in part to a great night from Edwards.

Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 points, nine rebounds and three assists and was a scorcher from long range, shooting 7-of-11 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Can Zion stay healthy this time?

Williamson has now played in seven of the Pelicans’ 37 games in another injury-ravaged season. With a series of injuries to several key players, New Orleans is off to the worst start in the Western Conference. Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, McCollum, Jones and Trey Murphy III have all missed significant time due to injuries this season alongside Williamson.

But it’s Williamson’s injuries that have become a familiar refrain since the Pelicans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Williamson has only played in 191 of 427 Pelicans regular season games due to various injuries since joining the team.

He has played in a maximum of 29 games in three different seasons, including missing the entire 2021-22 season with a foot injury. Williamson played 70 games in the 2023-24 season, the most of his NBA career.

He returns to a roster still without fellow former All-Star Ingram, who has been sidelined the last 12 games with an ankle injury. Murray, McCollum, Jones and Murphy have all returned from extended absences, although Murphy missed Tuesday’s game with a sprained ankle.

Despite Williamson’s injury history, the Pelicans signed him to a five-year, $197 million maximum extension in 2022 and extended him through the 2027-28 season. The final three seasons of the contract are reportedly non-guaranteed due to a game clause that was triggered when he played just 29 games in the 2022-23 season.

When healthy, Williamson was an imposing interior force on the court. For his career, he averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 58.7% from the field.