Zion Williamson Scores Nine in Overtime as the Pelicans Hand Memphis Its First Loss Despite Ty Jerome's 40: The Fantasy Read on Both Teams

The NBA's last unbeaten team is unbeaten no more. The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Memphis Grizzlies 135-134 in overtime on Monday night, with Zion Williamson scoring 25 points, nine of them in the extra period, and second-year guard Jeremiah Fears sinking two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to win it. Ty Jerome scored 40 for Memphis, his second 40-point game of the season, but missed a shot in the final seconds, and rookie Cameron Boozer finished with 18 as the Grizzlies' perfect start ended.

The game also showed the fantasy profile of both rosters, from Williamson's closing role to the ongoing breakout of second-year big man Derik Queen, who scored 20 off the bench and then traded words with Memphis' Isaiah Stewart after the final buzzer.

How it unfolded

New Orleans and Memphis combined for 269 points in one of the highest-scoring games of the young season. Williamson was the Pelicans' engine in overtime, scoring nine of his 25 points in the extra period and finishing with 11 rebounds. Jerome carried Memphis on the other end with his 40-point night.

Fears made the decisive free throws with 7.3 seconds left, and Jerome's final look did not fall. After the buzzer, Queen talked trash, and The Big Lead reported that Stewart was ready to fight over it, which gave a regular-season November game a playoff edge.

Here are the key fantasy lines from the game.

Fantasy read: Pelicans

Williamson's stat line matters less than his role. He was the player New Orleans ran its offense through when the game was on the line, and a closing role in close games is the best signal of usage. Managers who drafted Williamson at a discount because of his injury history are getting a top-50 producer when healthy, and a nine-point overtime suggests his conditioning is in a good place. The standing caveat is availability, so managers should handle him as a high-end starter who comes with a reliable backup plan.

Queen is the waiver-wire story. He has climbed into the top 75 in season-long value and keeps producing even as a reserve. His scoring and rebounding give him value in points leagues, and his confidence, on display after the buzzer, suggests the coaching staff trusts him in big moments. He should be rostered in all 12-team leagues as a long-term hold.

Fears is worth monitoring in deeper formats. A second-year guard taking the game-winning free throws is a sign of trust from the coaching staff, but his week-to-week box scores are still too uneven to start in standard leagues.

Fantasy read: Grizzlies

Jerome is the surprise of the early season. A second 40-point game in the first two weeks moves him from a speculative add to a must-start guard for as long as his role holds. The catch is efficiency: Jerome's scoring bursts have come from hot perimeter shooting, and that kind of production tends to cool. Even at a lower shooting clip, his usage as a primary ball-handler should keep him in lineups.

Boozer remains one of the most valuable rookies in fantasy. He posted a triple-double earlier in the season and has been a steady contributor across categories. An 18-point night in a loss does not change his outlook as a rest-of-season starter in all formats.

Category-league notes

In nine-category formats, the game sorts the rosters cleanly. Williamson's value comes from points, rebounds and field-goal percentage, and his free-throw shooting is the category to watch, since a high volume of attempts can swing that column either way. Queen contributes rebounds and points with efficient shooting from close range, which makes him a better fit in category leagues than his bench role suggests.

Jerome is a points, threes and assists play whose percentages depend on whether his perimeter shot keeps falling. Boozer is the most balanced of the group, with rebounds, assists and defensive stats that hold value even on nights his shot is off. Managers punting free throws or turnovers should note that the Memphis and New Orleans rotations both lean on high-usage young players, which tends to raise turnover totals.

Betting angle

Both teams were in a high-scoring game that went to overtime, and that is worth noting for future totals. Memphis' early-season success came with an offense that can score in bunches, and the Pelicans showed they can keep pace when Williamson is healthy and aggressive. Bettors should watch whether books adjust Pelicans totals upward after a 135-point night, or whether the market treats the game as an overtime outlier.

The Grizzlies' first loss is also a reminder that unbeaten records in early November are fragile. A team riding a hot shooter and a rookie forward is vulnerable to regression, and the line on Memphis' next few games will show whether the market has priced that in.

Verdexed's model view on both teams, and the daily NBA picks pages, are at /nba/predictions and /blog/nba-picks-2026-11-04.

What's next

For the Pelicans, the question is whether Williamson can sustain this level over a heavy November schedule, and whether Queen's minutes keep growing. For the Grizzlies, the focus is whether Jerome's shot-making holds up and how quickly the team bounces back from its first loss. Fantasy managers should hold Jerome and Boozer as starters, add Queen if he is available, and keep Williamson active until his health says otherwise.