Brandon Ingram in concussion protocol; Zion Williamson questionable

METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram is in the NBA’s concussion protocol after colliding with a teammate in Sunday’s 122-121 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz, the team announced Monday.

There is no timetable for Ingram’s return; he will have to clear a series of steps to ensure he is symptom-free before resuming basketball activities.

Coach Willie Green said he expects Zion Williamson and Herb Jones, who also suffered injuries in Sunday’s game, to be listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Williamson did not finish Sunday’s game with what the team called a posterior hip contusion, and Jones tweaked his knee late but stayed in the game until he fouled out with 11.5 seconds to play.

Green said Monday that he was grateful that the Pelicans avoided potentially major injuries with all three.

“Z’s fall could’ve been much worse and doesn’t seem like it is. Sore. Bruises. Brandon gets hit in the face. Herb’s knee,” Green said. “Nothing catastrophic, but something we have to monitor over the next few days.”

Green initially told reporters that Ingram was not in concussion protocol “at the moment” but that the team was still in the process of evaluating him. It wasn’t until later in the day that Ingram was placed in the protocol.

The Pelicans had imaging done on Jones’ right knee Monday morning, with Green saying everything was fine.

“We’ll see how they feel once we go through shootaround and go from there,” Green said.

Williamson took a hard fall with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter when his dunk attempt was blocked by Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson. Williamson, who had just blocked Clarkson’s shot on the other end, thought he had a breakaway slam and cocked back the ball with his left hand. Clarkson got his hand on the ball, and Williamson took a fall, landing on his backside.

He initially tried to stay in the game, but one possession later, Williamson was taken out but stayed on the bench. Green said after the game that Williamson was unable to return because of the injury.

In the first quarter, Ingram collided with teammate Naji Marshall as the two went up to attempt to steal a pass. Marshall’s hand made contact with Ingram, and on the ensuing possession, the Pelicans called a timeout so Ingram could check himself out of the game.

After being evaluated by the team trainer, Ingram appeared to be fine and even told some teammates on the bench that he was fine. Ingram checked back in at 6:33 of the second quarter, but not even a minute later, he called to the bench to check out. Instead of going to the bench, Ingram walked directly to the locker room followed by team personnel.

After playing the Mavericks on Tuesday, the Pelicans head west for a three-game road trip against the Phoenix Suns, LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.