Spurs shut down Davis despite resting veterans

SAN ANTONIO — New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said the San Antonio Spurs will quickly expose any team’s weakness.

The Pelicans learned not only do they have a lot to work on, they also need some rest.

Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and the Spurs beat the Pelicans 98-79 on Saturday night in their home opener.

“We didn’t have the same energy that we’re usually playing with,” Pelicans forward Anthony Davis said. “We wasn’t making shots. There was some miscommunication. Against a team like this, you can’t have plays where we have a mental breakdown, that’s what they want and they always capitalize. We had seven turnovers in the first half and they scored on every turnover.”

Davis was held to 18 points after scoring 50 and 45 points in the season’s first two games. He barely played in the fourth quarter as San Antonio won its first home opener in 20 years without Tim Duncan. San Antonio played without any of its Big Three as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili both sat out to rest in the first night of back-to-back games.

San Antonio didn’t appear to miss them, as 11 players were part of a balanced-scoring effort that helped the team remain unbeaten after three games.

Trail Blazers 115, Nuggets 113, OT — At Denver, Damian Lillard scored 37 points, including the go-ahead floater with less than a second remaining in overtime, and the Portland beat Denver in a game that featured a nearly 27-minute delay in the fourth quarter due to a power surge.

Bucks 110, Nets 108 — At Milwaukee, John Henson’s tip-in at the buzzer gave the Milwaukee its first victory of the season. Former UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn scored a career-high 22 points, including six 3 pointers, for the Bucks.

Bulls 118, Pacers 101 — At Chicago, Doug McDermott had 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Rajon Rondo had 13 assists to lead Chicago to its second straight victory to open the season. McDermott scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Cavaliers 105, Magic 99 — At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 23 points, Kyrie Irving added 20 and Cleveland beat Orlando for the 15th straight time. Kevin Love scored 19.

The Cavaliers haven’t lost to the Magic since Nov. 23, 2012.

Celtics 104, Hornets 98 — At Charlotte, N.C., Avery Bradley (Findlay Prep) had 31 points on a career-high eight 3-pointers, and Boston shot 75 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to pull away late. Bradley was 8 of 11 from beyond the arc and had 11 rebounds.

Kings 106, Timberwolves 103 — At Sacramento, Calif., DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, Rudy Gay added 28 and Sacramento won for the first time in its new arena, the Golden 1 Center. Cousins also had seven rebounds and four assists and fouled out with 37 seconds remaining.

Knicks 111, Grizzlies 104 — At New York, Kristaps Porzingis scored 21 points, Carmelo Anthony had 20 and New York won its home opener. The win was the Knicks’ first under coach Jeff Hornacek after falling apart against Cleveland in their opener.

Hawks 104, 76ers 72 — At Philadelphia, Paul Millsap scored 17 points to lead five Hawks in double figures as Atlanta routed Philadelphia.

Dwight Howard was not one of the Hawks in double figures, recording only two points and seven rebounds in his second game for his hometown team.