NEW ORLEANS. – New Orleans’ 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 Pelicans 121-117 on Wednesday night.
Williamson, the first overall choice in last year’s draft, 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 the Spurs regained control.
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.
In other games, it was Utah 129, Golden State 96; Atlanta 102, LA Clippers 95; LA Lakers 100, New York 92; Chicago 117, Minnesota 100; Toronto 107, Philadelphia 95; Boston 119, Memphis 95; Houston 121, Denver 105; Oklahoma 120, Orlando 114; Detroit 127, Sacramento 106; Miami 134, Washington 129 (OT); and Indiana 112, Phoenix 87;
Jazz 129, Warriors 96
Utah completed its first season-series sweep of Golden State in 10 years, using 23 points from Donovan Mitchell and 22 from Rudy Gobert as the foundation for a runaway 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. 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. Golden State’s D’Angelo Russell led all scorers with 26 points.
Hawks 102, Clippers 95
John Collins scored 33 points and reserve Brandon Goodwin scored all 19 of his points in the second half to help the short-handed Hawks erase a 21-point deficit and defeat short-handed Los Angeles at Atlanta. — Reuters
