Zion Williamson erupts in fourth quarter of NBA debut but San Antonio Spurs hold off New Orleans Pelicans
Written by News on 23/01/2020
Zion Williamson scored 22 points on his NBA debut, but the visiting San Antonio Spurs defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 121-117.
San Antonio Spurs 121-117 New Orleans Pelicans
Zion Williamson scored 22 points in his NBA debut, but LaMarcus Aldridge topped him with 32 points and 14 rebounds as the visiting San Antonio Spurs defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 121-117 on Wednesday night.
Williamson, the first overall draft choice, missed the first 44 games of the season while rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery.
He struggled for three quarters before scoring 17 consecutive Pelicans points to briefly give them the lead in the fourth quarter before sitting out the final five-and-a-half minutes as Spurs regained control.
DeMar DeRozan added 20 points, Dejounte Murray scored 13, Derrick White had 12 and Bryn Forbes 11 for San Antonio.
Brandon Ingram matched Williamson’s 22 points for New Orleans. Lonzo Ball had 14 points and 12 assists, Jrue Holiday scored 12, Derrick Favors had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and JJ Redick and Josh Hart scored 10 apiece.
Denver Nuggets 105-121 Houston Rockets
Russell Westbrook scored 28 points and flirted with a triple-double while James Harden added 27 as the Houston Rockets snapped a four-game skid with a 121-105 win over the shorthanded visiting Denver Nuggets.
Westbrook top scored in the game, grabbed a season-high-tying 16 rebounds and added eight assists to pace the Rockets, who had dropped five of six during their longest slide of the season. Harden was 6 of 13 from the field and 13 of 15 from the free throw line to complement Westbrook, and Eric Gordon added 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting off the Houston bench.
The Nuggets were without guards Jamal Murray and Gary Harris plus forwards Paul Millsap and Michael Porter Jr. It required a yeoman effort for Denver to keep pace, with Nikola Jokic posting a triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to steer the patchwork lineup. Jokic also had a game-high six turnovers. Houston converted 15 Denver turnovers into 22 points.
Jerami Grant chipped in 17 points and while P.J. Dozier tallied 15 off the bench for the Nuggets, who trailed by double digits throughout the second half as the Rockets won comfortably.
Philadelphia 76ers 95-107 Toronto Raptors
Fred VanVleet scored 22 points and added eight assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 107-95.
Pascal Siakam added 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won five in a row and have won 15 straight regular season home games against the 76ers.
Norman Powell contributed 18 points off the bench for Toronto, Marc Gasol had 17, and Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka each had 16 points.
Tobias Harris had 22 points and Ben Simmons had 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the 76ers. Furkan Korkmaz added 17 points, Matisse Thybulle had 13 points and Al Horford had seven points and 10 rebounds.
LA Clippers 95-102 Atlanta Hawks
John Collins scored 33 points, and reserve Brandon Goodwin scored all of his 19 points in the second half, including some key baskets down the stretch, to help the short-handed Hawks erase a 21-point deficit and defeat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 102-95.
The Clippers were playing without regular starters Kawhi Leonard (load management), Paul George (left hamstring strain) and Patrick Beverley (groin)
Collins was 12 of 22 from the field for the Hawks and added 16 rebounds, matching his season high. It was his ninth double-double and third 30-point effort of the season. The Hawks also got 12 points and seven rebounds from Kevin Huerter plus 10 points and eight rebounds from Cam Reddish.
Los Angeles was led by Montrezl Harrell with 30 points and seven rebounds, but he made only 6 of 13 from the foul line and missed 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter. The Clippers got 18 points from Lou Williams, but he was an uncharacteristic 0-for-7 from three-point range. Landry Shamet scored 13.
LA Lakers 100-92 New York Knicks
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 28 points for the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, who held off the New York Knicks 100-92.
Davis was 7 of 14 from the field and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line, matching his most conversions without a miss in a game this season. He also was 13 for 13 against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 3.
LeBron James had 21 points and six rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Lakers, who won for the 11th time in 13 games. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13 points) and Kyle Kuzma (10) each scored in double figures off the bench for Los Angeles.
Marcus Morris scored 20 points and Damyean Dotson came off the bench to add 17 for the Knicks, who have lost four of their past five and are 2-9 in a stretch beginning with a loss to Phoenix on January 3. Julius Randle had 16 points and Taj Gibson 12 for New York, which got 12 rebounds from Mitchell Robinson.
Memphis Grizzles 95-119 Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum scored 23 points before exiting with a groin injury in the third quarter as the Boston Celtics crushed the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 119-95.
Daniel Theis added 14 points, Enes Kanter chipped in 13 points off the bench, and Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward scored 12 apiece as the Celtics won their second straight since losing six of eight.
Jonas Valanciunas had a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Jaren Jackson Jr. and Solomon Hill each added 13 points for the Grizzlies, who lost their second straight since a seven-game win streak. Memphis dropped its eighth consecutive meeting with Boston.
Tatum limped off the court and to the locker room with 4:43 left in the third. The team later announced he sustained a right groin strain and would not return. The Celtics already were without Jaylen Brown for the game due to a right ankle sprain.
Oklahoma City Thunder 120-114 Orlando Magic
Dennis Schroder tied a season high with 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-114 road win over the Orlando Magic.
He was part of the Thunder’s attacking trio of guards which destroyed the Magic defense as Chris Paul also added 19 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18. Without Steven Adams, Gilgeous-Alexander also took on much of the rebounding load for Oklahoma City. He had 12 rebounds to lead the Thunder.
For the Magic, Nikola Vucevic overcame a poor shooting start to the night to post a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The second half turned into a shootout between two reserve guards – Schroder and the Magic’s Terrence Ross. Schroder scored 20 points in the second half, whilst Ross scored 19 of his season-high-tying 26 points in the second half, going 6 of 11 from the field, but every time the Magic had a run, the visitors responded.
The win was Oklahoma City’s third straight overall and fourth straight on the road, whilst Orlando lost for the third time in four games.
Washington Wizards 129-134 Miami Heat (OT)
Rookie guard Tyler Herro scored a team-high 25 points and Jimmy Butler scored nine of his 24 points in overtime to lead the host Miami Heat to a 134-129 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Herro set a Heat rookie record with seven three-pointers, missing only twice. Goran Dragic had 22 points and 10 assists for the Heat, who have the NBA’s best home record at 20-1. The Heat bench, led by Herro and Dragic, provided 74 points.
Butler, who sat out Miami’s previous game due to a sore hip, added 10 assists and seven rebounds to go with his 24 points.
The Wizards, who got a game-high 38 points from Bradley Beal, fell to 0-18 on the road when trailing after three quarters. Beal added nine rebounds and five assists. Washington also got 24 points from reserve Davis Bertans.
The Heat have now already surpassed their total of home wins from last season, when they went 19-22 at AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami also has the best overtime record in the league at 8-0.
Sacramento Kings 106-127 Detroit Pistons
Christian Wood scored 23 points and Reggie Jackson supplied 22 in his return to action as the host Detroit Pistons handed the Sacramento Kings their sixth consecutive loss, 127-106.
The Pistons had six players out due to injuries, including the league’s top rebounder, Andre Drummond, while Jackson had not played since the second game of the season due to a back injury. Derrick Rose also scored 22 points and added 11 assists. Langston Galloway contributed 14 points, while Markieff Morris and Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 apiece. Thon Maker chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 22 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic fired in 19 points, Nemanja Bjelica and Buddy Hield had 14 points apiece, and Dewayne Dedmon added 13.
Minnesota Timberwolves 110-117 Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine scored 25 points – including a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:26 to go – and Cristiano Felicio notched a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds to lift the host Chicago Bulls past the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves 117-110.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 40 points and Andrew Wiggins followed with 25 for Minnesota, but it was not enough as the Timberwolves suffered their seventh straight defeat. Shabazz Napier scored 16 points for Minnesota, which was outrebounded 50-43.
Lauri Markkanen followed LaVine with 21 points and hit four treys to become the 13th player in league history with 100 made three-pointers in his first three NBA seasons. Luke Kornet (15 points), Kris Dunn (14) and Coby White (12) also finished in double figures for Chicago, which snapped a three-game losing streak against Minnesota.
Indiana Pacers 112-87 Phoenix Suns
TJ Warren scored 25 points against his former team and Domantas Sabonis added 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers jumped to an early lead and never trailed in a 112-87 road victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Doug McDermott had 12 points and Justin Holiday 11 as the Pacers won for the sixth time in their past seven games while recovering from a defeat at Utah on Monday.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 points and Devin Booker 16 as the Suns lost their second game in a row. Without Cameron Johnson (quad) and Aron Baynes (hip), the Suns were playing with a short bench. They also were without Frank Kaminsky.
Warren, in his first season with the Pacers, went 11 of 18 from the field against the team he played with in his first five NBA seasons. He was moved to the Pacers in a three-team trade in June that included Miami. The win sees Indiana improve to 11-5 against Western Conference teams,
Utah Jazz 129-96 Golden State Warriors
The Utah Jazz completed their first season-series sweep of the Golden State Warriors in 10 years, using 23 points from Donovan Mitchell and 22 from Rudy Gobert as the foundation for a run-away, 129-96 victory in San Francisco.
Gobert, who was a doubt for the game after rolling his ankle in a Monday home win over the Indiana Pacers, also had a game-high 15 rebounds for the Jazz, whose first three wins over the Warriors this season had come by a total of just 26 points.
Golden State’s D’Angelo Russell led all scorers with 26 points, while Omari Spellman had 12 points, and Marquese Chriss and Eric Paschall scored 11 apiece for the Warriors.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points for the Jazz, Joe Ingles had 11 to go with a game-high eight assists, Georges Niang chipped in with 11 points and Jordan Clarkson had 10 for Utah, which won its third straight overall and 10th in its past 12 on the road.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: Zion Williamson erupts in fourth quarter of NBA debut but San Antonio Spurs hold off New Orleans Pelicans
