Saddiq Bey and Zion Williamson scored 24 points each and both canned key free throws down the stretch as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans finished with a flurry to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-95 on Sunday.
The Pelicans led by 20 just past the midway point of the third quarter and by 14 heading into the fourth. San Antonio reeled off the first 11 points of the final quarter to get back in the game and tied it at 85 when De’Aaron Fox hit a 3-pointer with 7:32 to play.
The Spurs continued their surge, moving to the front and expanding their advantage to five points after Julian Champagnie’s dunk with 5:09 left. But New Orleans responded, retaking the lead on Trey Murphy III’s 3-pointer with 2:54 remaining and expanding the margin to 98-93 after Murphy’s jumper on the Pelicans’ ensuing possession.
Yves Missi’s dunk off a Murphy assist with 1:44 left expanded New Orleans’ lead to seven and Williamson followed with a pair of free throws that all but finished off the Spurs.
Both Bey and Williamson also took 10 rebounds in the win while Murphy added 17 points and Missi had 10 points and 14 boards in the victory.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Keldon Johnson added 15 points off the bench, Devin Vassell had 13 in his first action since Dec. 29 after missing 13 games with an adductor strain and Champagnie and Fox hit for 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Vassell’s free throw with one second left gave San Antonio a 28-25 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Pelicans swung back, going up 35-30 on Jose Alvarado’s 3-pointer with 8:38 to play in the second quarter. New Orleans pushed the margin to seven points after a pair from the charity stripe by Williamson with 3:18 left until halftime, and the Pelicans led 56-47 at the break.
Bey led all scorers with 13 points in the first half while Williamson had 12 and Missi grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pelicans. Wembanyama and Vassell led the Spurs with eight points each before halftime.
New Orleans expanded its lead to 72-53 with six straight points, the last two a layup by Bey at the 7:24 mark of the third quarter. The Pelicans pushed the margin to 20 points on Bey’s two free throws with 5:32 to play in the period and carried an 82-68 advantage into the final 12 minutes.
