There were talks of Willie Green nearing the end of his tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans after going win-less in their first five outing. They were expected to lose their sixth straight but it did not happen. The drought is finished and he probably has Derick Queen to thank for that.
Pelicans edged the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, 112-1116 at home but not without having to go through the eye of needle. They played without star Zion Williamson although LaMelo Ball did not suit up, too, for Charlotte.
New Orleans surrendered the third quarter by eight points after finishing the halftime down by just two points. They used a fourth quarter run, most of it in the bottom half with Derik Queen and Jose Alvarado teaming up for the last two most important plays to steal the victory.
First, there was Alvarado who made a 27-foot three pointer from the right wing to steal the lead, 114-113, with 16.1 seconds to go.
Hornets got ball back but rookie Queen had other things in mind as he stole the possession from Sion James, leading to a foul call on Ryan Kalkbrenner against Trey Murphy who sank both free throws to extend their lead by 3 points. Charlotte missed in the next possession. Saddiq Bey was fouled and converted one free throw but that was enough to steal the win.
Willie Green praises Derik Queen
Queen finished the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. He also had 4 assists. It was his best performance so far in his freshman year.
NBA X were quick to point out that DQ extended Green’s stint with the franchise.
derik queen playing well enough to save willie green’s job is an unfortunate monkey’s paw situation i’ve found myself in https://t.co/r0bAD1BZ5z
— SPORTS DRINK: Café & Comedy Club (@SprtsDrnk) November 5, 2025
Derik Queen just basically told Willie Green you have to play me now.
That’s what great players do in spite of really bad coaching
— Justin (@ProPelsTalk) November 5, 2025
Willie Green needs to play Derik Queen more !!!!!! 18 minutes and he’s putting up numbers as well as the game winning steal. Goat 🐐 pic.twitter.com/PBzYaJBUsl
— DMVCardGuy1 (@RyanMac991) November 5, 2025
Green was all praises for Queen after the game.
“DQ was amazing tonight. We needed every ounce of what he gave us. Even when he made that mistake, all his teammates corralled around him… Huge huge minutes from DQ tonight”
— Willie Green on Derik Queen pic.twitter.com/TDJZRRLJR1
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) November 5, 2025
Pelicans will need more of this game from their 13th overall pick in the next 2 weeks as they won’t have Zion Williamson due to a left hamstring injury.
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