NBA

New Orleans Pelicans at San Antonio Spurs

· National Basketball Association
5-20, 1-12 Away
Final
116 - 121

12-12, 9-6 Home

Wembanyama helps Spurs beat Pelicans, 121-116, as Paul moves into second in career assists

New Orleans Pelicans vs. San Antonio Spurs: Game Highlights

Paul had 10 assists, giving him 12,099 for his career and moving him past former Phoenix and Dallas star Jason Kidd (12,091).

Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio, which snapped a three-game skid.

Wembanyama left the game with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter when he clutched his lower back. He had missed the previous two games with lower back soreness. But he returned to Sunday's game with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter.

Trey Murphy III scored 25 points and C.J. McCollum had 19 for the Pelicans. Dejounte Murray added 18 points and 11 assists and Yves Missi had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Takeaways Pelicans: New Orleans' starting five scored 92 points.

Spurs: San Antonio lost Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson to injuries in the first half. Collins exited midway through the first quarter with a lower back injury when he landed on his right hip after fouling and tumbling over Murray on an attempted rebound. Johnson suffered a left calf injury with 7:11 remaining in the half.

Key moment Paul assisted on Wembanyama’s 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining to snap a five-minute scoring drought and put the Spurs up 117-116. Prior to Wembanyama’s 3, the Pelicans had a 13-0 run to take a 116-114 lead with a minute remaining in the game.

Key stat The 39-year-old Paul moved into second place when the 20-year-old Wembanyama made a 25-foot 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in the first half against New Orleans, the franchise where his 20-year career began.

Up next Pelicans: Host Sacramento on Thursday night.

Spurs: At Portland on Friday night.

Regular Season Series

SA leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Spurs: 70.4%
Pelicans: 29.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 116 - 121
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 116 - 121
4th 1.0 Chris Paul defensive rebound 116 - 121
4th 3.1 Dejounte Murray misses 32-foot three point jumper 116 - 121
4th 4.1 CJ McCollum enters the game for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 116 - 121

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/no.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNO https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/sa.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSA
43-99 FG 42-93
43.4 Field Goal % 45.2
13-38 3PT 12-39
34.2 Three Point % 30.8
17-21 FT 25-31
81.0 Free Throw % 80.6
43 Rebounds 55
13 Offensive Rebounds 16
30 Defensive Rebounds 39
26 Assists 27
9 Steals 7
8 Blocks 11
8 Turnovers 13
0 Team Turnovers 0
8 Total Turnovers 13
0 Technical Fouls 1
0 Total Technical Fouls 1
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
15 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 20
20 Fast Break Points 17
46 Points in Paint 60
21 Fouls 18
8 Largest Lead 11

Game Information

Frost Bank Center

Location: San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 16,840 · Capacity:

2024-25 Southwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 43 25 .632 - W6
Memphis 43 25 .632 - W1
Dallas 33 36 .478 10.5 L3
San Antonio 28 38 .424 14 W1
New Orleans 18 50 .265 25 L2
Full Standings

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