NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Zion Williamson capped his long-awaited NBA debut by scoring 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and stirring the crowd into a frenzy – only to see his team come up short.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 14 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 20 points, and the San Antonio Spurs withstood Williamson’s late surge for a 121-117 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday night.
After spending the past three months rehabilitating from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Williamson struggled to find his shot during the first three quarters, during which he played a little less than 12 minutes. When the fourth quarter began, he had just five points, four rebounds, an assist and four turnovers.
But when Williamson found himself open for a straight-on 3 with about nine minutes to go, he let it fly and it went down. He followed that with a torrid three-minute stretch in which he laid in an alley-oop lob, put back a missed shot with a reverse layup and hit three more 3s. He finished the surge with a free throw as the jubilant crowd chanted, “M-V-P!” He was subbed out shortly after.
New Orleans got as close as 119-117 on Josh Hart’s 3, but Aldridge responded with two free throws and the Spurs did not give up another basket.
Brandon Ingram scored 22 for New Orleans but missed 16 of 22 shots, while Lonzo Ball had 14 points and 12 assists.
RAPTORS 107, 76ERS 95
TORONTO (AP) – Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Fred VanVleet scored 22 and Toronto extended its winning streak to five games with a win over Philadelphia.
Norman Powell added 18 points, Marc Gasol shot 7 for 7 and finished with 17 points, and Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka each scored 16 as the Raptors won their 15th straight home meeting with the 76ers.
Ben Simmons had 17 points, 10 rebounds and eights assists for the 76ers, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. Simmons, however, had just two points and one rebound in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia’s four-game winning streak was snapped.
Tobias Harris scored 22 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 17 and Matisse Thybulle 13 for the 76ers.
LAKERS 100, KNICKS 92
NEW YORK (AP) – LeBron James scored 19 of his 21 points to quickly cut into Kobe Bryant’s shrinking lead over him for the No. 3 scoring spot in NBA history, and Los Angeles beat the Knicks.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 28 points in his second game back after a five-game absence, after the Western Conference leaders were handed their worst loss of the season Monday in his return.
James’ quiet second half left him with 33,599 points, 44 behind Bryant.
That keeps James in good shape to catch the former Lakers star Saturday at Philadelphia, where the five-time NBA champion was born. Los Angeles has a game in between Thursday in Brooklyn.
Marcus Morris scored 20 points and Damyean Dotson had 17 for the Knicks.
HEAT 134, WIZARDS 129, OT
MIAMI (AP) – Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Jimmy Butler scored nine of his 24 points in overtime and Miami wasted a 21-point lead before beating Washington.
Butler also had 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 20-1 at home and 8-0 in overtime this season. Goran Dragic had 22 points and 10 assists, Kendrick Nunn scored 14 points and Duncan Robinson finished with 13 for the Heat.
Bradley Beal had a game-high 38 points for Washington on 16-for-24 shooting. Davis Bertans scored 24, Isaiah Thomas and Jordan McRae each had 14 and Ian Mahinmi scored 10 for the Wizards.
CELTICS 119, GRIZZLIES 95
BOSTON (AP) – Jayson Tatum scored 23 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with a groin injury as Boston routed Memphis.
Daniel Theis had 14 points, Enes Kanter finished with 13 points and eight rebounds to help Boston win its second straight. Memphis has lost two in a row since posting a season-high, seven-game win streak.
Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Solomon Hill each added 13 points.
THUNDER 120, MAGIC 114
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Dennis Schroder scored 31 points and Oklahoma City shot 60.5% against one of the NBA’s better defenses and beat Orlando.
Schroder came off the bench with 13-for-18 shooting and added nine assists for the Thunder, who won for the eighth time in nine road games.
Chris Paul added 19 points and six assists for Oklahoma City, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Terrence Ross scored 26 points and Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando, which had allowed an NBA-low 103.9 points per game.
ROCKETS 121, NUGGETS 105
HOUSTON (AP) – Russell Westbrook had 28 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, James Harden added 27 points and Houston snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over short-handed Denver.
Harden scored 20 points in the first half. He connected on 13 of 15 from the free throw line. Houston shot 47%, including 13 of 29 on 3-pointers.
Eric Gordon scored 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting on 3-pointers, and Clint Capela had 14 points and 11 rebounds to help Houston win its eighth straight against the Nuggets in Houston.
