The New Orleans Pelicans, a team that has gone just 8-20 entering their Wednesday night tilt against the Dallas Mavericks since losing Zion Williamson to a hamstring injury, face a very legitimate possibility of missing out on the play-in tournament. After all, the outlook of their season looked bleak after reports came out stating that Williamson is not close to a return.

Their predicament even went from bad to worse, after they lost Brandon Ingram to an ankle injury against the Mavs. But at least for one game, CJ McCollum made sure that the Pelicans aren't going quietly into that good night.

With the Mavs doing their best to rally from an 18-point deficit, McCollum simply took over. The Pelicans guard ended with 32 points on the night, with 16 of those coming in the payoff period. Simply put, McCollum took over the bridge of a sinking ship and calmly led them to shore on Wednesday night. Even Larry Nance Jr. was in awe of McCollum's ability to right the ship, as seen in his reaction he posted on his official Twitter account.

Now that is a solid Captain Phillips reference right there; however, it bears mentioning that the context behind the famous meme pertains to pirates hijacking the U.S. cargo ship Maersk Alabama in Somalia. So is CJ McCollum leading a hostile takeover of the Pelicans? Of course not.

Nevertheless, it's not too difficult to see why Larry Nance Jr. is euphoric after a much-needed explosion from McCollum, especially late in the game. With the Pelicans reeling from the Mavs' haymakers despite Luka Doncic's exit from the game, McCollum stepped up to the plate and hit one insurance home run after another.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Thunder Pelicans prediction

Dominik Zawartko ·

Reggie Miller saying "Shai scorchin' the Pels!" with Shai shooting over Herb Jones

Chris Dodson ·

Graphic: David Griffin and Trajan Langdon saying "We're waiting" while Brandon Ingram looks dejected (head down) in the background. Maybe add 0-2 to show Pelicans are down in the series.

Chris Dodson ·

After the Mavs cut the Pelicans' lead to three, 97-94, McCollum proceeded to score 13 straight points, including three straight triples in a wild sequence where the two teams combined to nail six triples in consecutive possessions.

This is exactly the kind of performance the Pelicans needed to remain in the thick of the playoff hunt. Their 113-106 win vs. the Mavs puts them at 32-34, good for 10th at the moment in the Western Conference.