New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson showcased his brilliance in his long-awaited NBA debut Wednesday, but the San Antonio Spurs spoiled the party at Smoothie King Center with a 121-117 victory over the Pelicans.
Williamson, who was the number one overall draft pick in June, offered a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come in his career when he exploded for 17 points in little more than three minutes in the fourth quarter.
The 19-year-old sensation had been sidelined since arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on the eve of the Pelicans’ season-opener in October.
He made a tentative start, scoring just five points with four rebounds, one assist four turnovers in less than 12 minutes on the floor over the first three quarters.
With 8:52 remaining and the Spurs up 99-91, Williamson connected with a three-pointer from the top of the key that ignited the crowd of 18,365.
He followed up with an alley-oop layup, fed by Lonzo Ball, drained a trey and put back his own miss with a spinning layup before adding two more three-pointers.
The crowd was chanting “M-V-P!” as he capped the burst with a free-throw, but he was soon subbed out of the game as Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry stuck to the plan of playing Williamson only in short bursts.
“I think what you saw there is a taste,” Gentry said. “There’s a lot of potential there.”
He said he’d counseled Williamson at halftime to be more aggressive, and he was pleased to see him deliver.
“I think there’s a really, really high ceiling that he can reach, and he can reach it soon,” added Gentry, who nevertheless was impervious to the cries of “We want Zion” from fans late in the fourth quarter.
“It was very hard,” Williamson admitted of coming out of the game just as he had found his rhythm. “I’m 19. Honestly, in that moment I’m not thinking about longevity I’m thinking about winning that game.
“So it was very tough,” added Williamson, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Spurs, who led by as many as 15 and by 12 to start the fourth quarter, were up 109-108 when Williamson departed and quickly pulled away again.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 32 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20 for a San Antonio team holding down the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Williamson, who admitted on Tuesday he wasn’t sure just how much sleep he’d get on the eve of his debut, said that as the pre-game introductions were made he just told himself to “be calm.”
‘Great stuff’
He said it wasn’t just Gentry who urged him at halftime to defer less but also teammates including Jrue Holiday.
“I think he did well,” Holiday said, commending the teenager’s poise.
“We’re almost in February and he hadn’t played a game yet, so for him to come out and do that his first game is pretty elite.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was pleased to have a courtside seat for Williamson’s debut.
“Oh, yeah, it’s great stuff, I’m glad he’s back, a talent like that,” Popovich said. “He’s a great guy on top of it all. So it’s good for the Pelicans. It’s good for basketball. He’s quite a package as a player and as a person.”
Lakers return to winning ways
LeBron James started hot and Anthony Davis found his groove Wednesday as the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from an embarrassing loss to the Boston Celtics with a 100-92 win over the Knicks in New York.
James scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half and Davis scored 17 of his game-high 28 in the second, continuing to improve in his second game back from a five-game absence because of a bruised backside.
It was a welcome return to form for the NBA Western Conference leaders, who endured their worst defeat of the season on Monday in a 139-107 loss to the Celtics in Boston.
“Obviously the one in Boston we didn’t come to play at all, no way, shape or form,” Davis said. “We try not to lose two in a row, we bounced back tonight with a great win against a hungry team.
“We just want to make sure we keep playing Laker basketball, keep playing defensively, keep pushing the pace offensively.
“When we do those things we’re a tough team to beat.”
The Lakers, who improved to 35-9, had 13 points from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 10 from Kyle Kuzma.
James connected on eight of 10 shots in 17 minutes in the first half, but the Lakers were 48-48 at halftime against a Knicks team that is third from bottom in the East.
Although he had a quiet second half in terms of scoring, James came up with four of his five steals after the break.
“It was a slow-paced game so defensive stops were very key to our success tonight,” James said. “I tried to start off the game being aggressive and I was able to get myself going. AD was able to facilitate down the stretch and it was good basketball.”
(Reports by AFP)
Results and standings on Wednesday in the NBA:
New Orleans 117, San Antonio 121
Atlanta 102, LA Clippers 95
Boston 119, Memphis 95
Miami 134, Washington 129 (OT)
New York 92, LA Lakers 100
Golden State 96, Utah 129
Phoenix 87, Indiana 112
Chicago 117, Minnesota 110
Houston 121, Denver 105
Detroit 127, Sacramento 106
Orlando 114, Oklahoma City 120
Toronto 107, Philadelphia 95
Standings (w l pct gb)
Eastern Conference
Milwaukee 39 6 0.867 –-
Miami 31 13 0.705 7 1/2
Toronto 30 14 0.682 8 1/2
Boston 29 14 0.674 9
Indiana 29 16 0.644 10
Philadelphia 29 17 0.630 10 1/2
Orlando 21 24 0.467 18
Brooklyn 18 24 0.429 19 1/2
Detroit 17 28 0.378 22
Chicago 17 29 0.370 22 1/2
Charlotte 15 30 0.333 24
Washington 14 29 0.326 24
Cleveland 12 32 0.273 26 1/2
New York 12 33 0.267 27
Atlanta 11 34 0.244 28
Western Conference
LA Lakers 35 9 0.795 –-
Utah 31 13 0.705 4
LA Clippers 31 14 0.689 4 1/2
Denver 30 14 0.682 5
Dallas 27 16 0.628 7 1/2
Houston 27 16 0.628 7 1/2
Oklahoma City 26 19 0.578 9 1/2
San Antonio 20 23 0.465 14 1/2
Memphis 20 24 0.455 15
Portland 19 26 0.422 16 1/2
Phoenix 18 26 0.409 17
New Orleans 17 28 0.378 18 1/2
Minnesota 15 29 0.341 20
Sacramento 15 29 0.341 20
Golden State 10 36 0.217 26