Former Alabama basketball stars Herb Jones and Kira Lewis Jr. returned to their home state on Friday night as their New Orleans Pelicans battled the Atlanta Hawks in Birmingham in the final exhibition game before the regular season starts Tuesday.

Jones, a Tuscaloosa native and former SEC Player of the Year for the Crimson Tide, received the loudest ovation from either team when the starting lineups were introduced. Lewis, a former Hazel Green High star, did not play while working his way back from a knee injury.

The Pelicans beat the Hawks 120-111 in their final tune up.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said about playing the game in Birmingham. “First of all, the guys that are from here and played here get the chance to play in front of some of their hometown fans, and our G League team is here. It’s a great experience for us to connect with fans that we probably wouldn’t have a chance to do during the regular season. It’s a unique and fun experience for us.”

Jones spoke to the media Friday morning before game time. He finished with 13 points, three rebounds and a steal.

“It’s going to be fun, especially coming back to my home state and coming back to an arena that I aspired to play in as a kid,” Jones said before playing at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. “It’s going to remind me of old times, seeing some familiar faces in the crowd. Coming back to play in this gym as a professional is amazing.”

Jones had dozens of ticket requests for the game, and his family and friends showed up in big numbers. He discussed how he handled the ticket request situation during the team’s shootaround.

“I had to put my phone on do not disturb, so I can lock into the game,” he said. “My mom handled all the tickets request.”

Green said Jones, a second-team NBA All-Rookie Team pick last year, was a joy to coach.

“He’s a fantastic young man, high character,” Green said. “His parents have done a great job with who he is as a person. He’s the example we set here in New Orleans. He’s smart. He’s one of the guys you want in your program because you can continue to build with guys like Herb.”

Hoops fans in Birmingham came out to see their local stars play, and it didn’t hurt that they were playing against the Hawks’ newly formed backcourt duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.

“I’m looking for everybody to get out there, play, and show us how they can help the team. This is not just our young guys. It’s all of our guys,” Hawks head coach Nate McMillan mentioned before the game. “This is the last opportunity before we strap up and play for real, so I’m looking for the team to go out there and show better execution and more connected basketball.”

The Pelicans played without phenom Zion Williamson, who was held out for precautionary reasons. However, Brandon Ingram saw his first action of the preseason. With Ingram leading the team, the Pelicans wasted no time jumping on the Hawks as they put up 40 points in the games initial quarter.

The Hawks responded by winning the second quarter to make this a close game at the half. The Pelicans won the third and fourth quarters and ultimately the game. It wasn’t a typical NBA game as both teams went deep on their bench.

Young and Murray paced the Hawks with a combined 35 points, eight assists and six rebounds in their 19 minutes of action a piece. Ingram finished with a game-high 20 points, three assists and one rebound in his first game action of the season.

“Every time I see someone, I see green. I want to attack everybody and make my teammates better,” Ingram said about his comfort level in this system. “Our defense fueled our offense today. We were able to get easy buckets and keep running. I get all my confidence from Willie and my teammates.”

Jones kicked off the scoring in the game by putting the game’s first points on the board. If the team personnel did not come to get him, he’d likely still be taking pictures with his family and friends in attendance.

“He’s a big foundation piece of our team,” Ingram said of Jones. “He deserved it (the ovation) for all the work that he put in. Him coming in, in his rookie season, and having a spectacular year like that was good to see.”

Lewis’ 2021-22 season ended on Dec. 8 when he sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a grade-2 medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee while taking a jump shot with 8:14 left in the second quarter of New Orleans’ 120-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

The 13th player picked in the 2020 NBA Draft, Lewis averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 assists in 16.7 minutes in 54 games as a rookie. In 24 games last season, Lewis averaged 5.9 points and 2.0 assists in 14.2 minutes.

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Lewis said last month of his recovery. “It’s been good, though. Just patience. Taking your time. You can’t rush it. You just get better every day.”