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National Basketball Association
San Antonio 111, New Orleans 109
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, April 5, 2024
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials: #39 Tyler Ford, #21 Dedric Taylor, #87 Danielle Scott
Attendance: 17422

Devonte' Graham scored 20 points, Victor Wembanyama finished one assist shy of a triple-double and the visiting San Antonio Spurs defeated the fading New Orleans Pelicans 111-109 on Friday night.

Wembanyama finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Julian Champagnie and Zach Collins scored 15 each and Tre Jones and Malaki Barnham had 14 each for the Spurs (19-58), who defeated the Pelicans for the first time after three losses this season.

CJ McCollum scored 31 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 26, Trey Murphy III had 16 and Herbert Jones added 15 for New Orleans (45-32), which lost its fourth straight game and fifth in six games.

Murphy scored seven straight Pelicans points as they increased their 10-point halftime lead to 14 early in the third quarter. The Spurs used a 13-4 run to get within 78-75 before New Orleans rebuilt the lead to six points on two occasions.

Graham made consecutive 3-pointers to complete the third-quarter scoring and produce an 86-86 tie at the end of the period.

The score was tied three times before Branham's 3-pointer started a 7-0 run that gave San Antonio a 102-97 lead with five minutes left in the game.

The Pelicans got within one with 42 seconds left. After a Graham miss, Jones drove to the basket looking for a go-ahead score, but Wembanyama blocked his floater.

After Graham made two free throws with 10 seconds left, Jones turned the ball over and Wembanyama made two free throws.

McCollum scored six of his nine first-quarter points during the final four minutes, and New Orleans took a 27-18 lead at the end of the period.

The Pelicans scored the first four points of the second quarter before Graham scored five points during a 12-2 run that pulled San Antonio within 33-30. The Pelicans increased the lead to 53-38 on a basket by Valanciunas before the Spurs crept within seven points.

McCollum made a free throw and added a jumper to complete the second-quarter scoring and give New Orleans a 61-51 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Antonio   New Orleans
Devonte' Graham 20 Scoring CJ McCollum 31
Victor Wembanyama 9 Assists Jonas Valanciunas 7
Victor Wembanyama 12 Rebounds Trey Murphy III 8
Devonte' Graham 4 Free Throws Made Jonas Valanciunas 6
Devonte' Graham 3 Steals Herbert Jones 3
Julian Champagnie 4 Blocks Jordan Hawkins 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
San Antonio 111 50.6 17-46 10-13 34 34 8 9 17
New Orleans 109 51.2 9-29 12-12 28 41 2 11 17
Upcoming Games
  • New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Phoenix. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .565 after a win and .613 after a loss.
  • San Antonio will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Spurs have a W/L % of .316 after a win and .224 after a loss.