San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Pelicans
Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22400818
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 26 14 35 39 114SAS 30 23 26 17 96
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Zion Williamson powers the Pelicans to a 114-96 comeback victory over the Spurs
NEW ORLEANS -- — Zion Williamson had 22 points and nine rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-96 on Sunday night to open a two-game set.
The teams will meet again in New Orleans on Tuesday night.
Kelly Olynyk had 14 points and 15 rebounds — his first double-double since the Toronto Raptors sent him to New Orleans as part of a trade for Brandon Ingram .
Rookie center Yves Missi grabbed career-high 15 rebounds, fellow rookie center Karlo Matkovic scored a career-high 19 points, wing Trey Murphy III scored 15 points and reserve guard Jose Alvarado added 12 points for the Pelicans. They've won two of their past three games since snapping a 10-gme skid just before the NBA All-Star break.
Julian Champagnie tied a career high with six 3s as he and Keldon Johnson each scored 18 points for San Antonio.
De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes each scored 13 points for the Spurs, who led 50-33 when Barnes hit a 3 with 5:07 left in the second quarter.
Takeaways Spurs: San Antonio fell to 1-2 in three games since French star Victor Wembanyama was lost for the season because of a blood clot in his right shoulder.
Pelicans: When New Orleans woke up in the third quarter, they dominated, outscoring the Spurs 51-22 during the final 14:12 of the game. Meanwhile, rookie centers Missi and Matkovic combined for 25 points and 21 rebounds.
Key moment Williamson’s layup as he was fouled by Johnson in the fourth quarter gave the Pelicans their first lead since the first quarter. The basket was part of a decisive 25-5 run — including a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter — that put the Pelicans up for good at 88-79.
Key stat Poor shooting doomed the Spurs, who went 32 of 97 (33%) overall and 15 of 51 (29.4%) from 3-point range.
SAS KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
SASBB B. Biyombo
CB C. Bassey
CP C. Paul
DF D. Fox
DV D. Vassell
HB H. Barnes
JC J. Champagnie
JM J. McLaughlin
JS J. Sochan
KJ K. Johnson
MB M. Branham
SC S. Castle
SM S. Mamukelashvili
WE Wesley
NOPAR A. Reeves
BB B. Brown
CM C. McCollum
JA J. Alvarado
JH J. Hawkins
JR J. Robinson-Earl
KM K. Matković
KO K. Olynyk
MA Matkovic
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
SAS/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur