Pelicans stars heap praise on United

Following a hard fought battle inside Rod Laver Arena on Friday night, the stars of the New Orleans Pelicans had plenty of kind things to say about our style of play.

The contest, which was full of intense plays throughout, was a historic one which left the NBA side with a lot of respect for the NBL powerhouse, and our stars such as Milton Doyle, who led all scorers with 25 points.

“They handle business… I gotta give my respect to Melbourne United,” two-time NBA All-Star Zion Williamson said.

“They're a great team. They played a great brand of basketball.

“He (Doyle) played a great game, he played 38 minutes, he didn't ever look winded out there, he played with great pace, great leader for those guys, a lot of respect for him.

Trey Murphy III echoed these sentiments.

“They move the ball very, very well,” Murphy said.

“They’re a really well coached team and they just know how to play off of each other. Big respect to their coaching and the players on that team.”

Pelicans Head Coach Willie Green said he ensured his players were ready for strong effort from United ahead of the game.

“We watched a ton of film on these guys, they do a great job of running their offense,” Green said.

“They run it with force, they run it with pace, they're extremely unselfish. They made it tough on us tonight and they're, they're a heck of a team.”

Melbourne United will next hit the court on Wednesday 8 October against the Sydney Kings, before returning home for the Grassroots Game against the Cairns Taipans on Sunday 12 October from 4:30pm.

Tickets are available here.