Zion shines in debut, but Spurs stop 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 5 1/2 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.
Williamson also amassed seven rebounds, three assists and five turnovers while playing 18 minutes, 18 seconds.
Williamson scored three points but turned the ball over twice as the Spurs extended a nine-point halftime lead to 14 points early in the third quarter.
With Williamson on the bench, Holiday and Ingram scored four points each as New Orleans got within 79-71.
San Antonio rebuilt the lead to 14 before Jaxson Hayes' dunk with 1.4 seconds left cut the gap to 94-82 at the end of the third quarter.
Ball's 3-pointer started the fourth-quarter scoring. Minutes later, WilliamJAPANESE
son grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled into the frontcourt and passed to E'Twaun Moore for a layup that pulled New Orleans within 97-91.
Jazz cruise to season sweep of Warriors
The Utah Jazz completed their first seasonseries sweep of the Golden State Warriors in 10 years Wednesday night, using 23 points from Donovan Mitchell and 22 from Rudy Gobert as the foundation for a runaway, 129-96 victory in San Francisco.
Gobert, who had been a bit iffy 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.
En route to the 18th victory in their past 20 games, the Jazz ran off to as much as a 15-point lead in the first quarter, then extended the margin to as many as 22 in the second period and 34 in the third before coasting home.
Mitchell shot 8-for-13 and Gobert 10-for-13, helping Utah connect on 53.8 percent in the game. The Warriors were limited to 39.8 percent shooting.
Mitchell averaged 26 points in the four-game sweep of the five-time defending Western Conference champs, while Gobert had 17.5 points and 15.8 rebounds per game.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points, 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.
Pistons send Kings to 6th straight loss
Christian Wood scored 23 points, Reggie Jackson supplied 22 in his return to action, and the host Detroit Pistons handed the Sacramento Kings their sixth consecutive loss, 127-106, on Wednesday night.
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.
Davis, LeBron lead Lakers past Knicks
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 28 points Wednesday night 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 Jan. 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 Sr. 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 Jan 3.
Julius Randle had 16 points and Taj Gibson 12 for New York, which got 12 rebounds from Mitchell Robinson.