New Orleans Pelicans ahead Naji Marshall (8) and heart Jonas Valanciunas (17) battle below the basket with San Antonio Spurs ahead Zach Collins (23) within the second half of an NBA basketball sport in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. The Pelicans gained 121-106. (AP Photograph/Gerald Herbert)
NEW ORLEANS— With Jonas Valanciunas asserting himself close to the basket and Trey Murphy hitting well timed 3-pointers in his first look of the season, the New Orleans Pelicans didn’t want huge video games from common prime scorers Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
It additionally helped that their opponent was the reeling San Antonio Spurs, who haven’t gained a sport in weeks and had been with out prime general draft alternative Victor Wembanyama.
Valanciunas had 24 factors and 12 rebounds, Murphy hit 4 second-half 3s to complete with 18 factors and the Pelicans beat San Antonio 121-106 within the NBA on Friday evening to ship the Spurs to their 14th straight loss.
“It’s a blessing to have the fellows accessible that may are available a produce straight away,” Pelicans coach Willie Inexperienced mentioned, including that “getting Trey again was big,” and that the Spurs “didn’t have a solution” for Valanciunas within the paint.
“I used to be simply bodily, going for offensive boards, crashing, doing my stuff as I normally do,” Valanciunas mentioned after his eighth double-double this season.
The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama was held out due to proper hip tightness. San Antonio’s dropping streak is now its second-longest. The Spurs misplaced 16 in a row final season, once they completed 22-60 and gained the NBA draft lottery.
CJ McCollum scored 19 factors and Herb Jones added 17 factors and three steals for New Orleans, which gained its second straight.
San Antonio Spurs heart Victor Wembanyama walks alongside the bench in road garments throughout a timeout within the first half of an NBA basketball sport towards the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. (AP Photograph/Gerald Herbert)
Murphy missed New Orleans’ first 19 video games whereas rehabilitating from arthroscopic surgical procedure to restore a meniscus tear in his left knee.
His first basket of the season was an end-to-end layup in transition. The 2023 All-Star Dunk contest runner-up later highlighted his return with a driving, hovering, tomahawk jam.
“Simply seeing an open lane, I simply needed to rise up there and present folks I nonetheless received my athleticism,” mentioned Murphy, who additionally went 4 of 10 from 3-point vary.
Ingram scored 14 factors, Williamson had 12 factors and the pair had seven assists apiece as they took on extra of a facilitator position than common.
Wembanyama ’s absence got here an evening after he had 21 factors, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked pictures in a 137-135 loss to Atlanta in San Antonio.
The 7-foot-3 Frenchman missed a sport for the primary time after beginning San Antonio’s first 18 video games, throughout which he averaged 19.3 factors, 9.7 rebounds and a pair of.7 blocks.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs in New Orleans with 14 factors. Jeremy Sochan scored 13 factors and Charles Bassey grabbed 11 rebounds.
“Nice back-to-back effort, however the identical bugaboos preserve cropping up,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich mentioned, including that his staff’s 19 turnovers “actually put us behind the 8 ball, and we had loads of undisciplined fouls.”
The problems with turnovers and fouls “are two issues they only received to determine,” Popovich added.
A lot of the sport was performed with simply two officers on the court docket after Scott Wall limped off within the first quarter, leaving Ed Malloy and Aaron Smith to hold on with out him.
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Spurs: At Minnesota on Wednesday evening.
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Pelicans: At Chicago on Saturday evening.