Mavericks 111, Wizards 105
76ers 130, Raptors 120
Heat 136, Blazers 131
Cavaliers 128, Bulls 122
Hawks 122, Lakers 102
Spurs 126, Pelicans 119
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points in his season debut, Victor Wembanyama added 18 points and 18 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Pelicans 126-119 on Saturday night.
Stephon Castle added 14 points and 14 assists as San Antonio won its second straight after two straight losses following a franchise-best 5-0 start.
Trey Murphy III scored 41 points on 15-for-22 shooting for the Pelicans. Murphy was 5 for 11 on 3-pointers, including a high-arcing 31-footer at the close of the third quarter to stun the sellout crowd.
Fox and Wembanyama played together for just the sixth time since San Antonio acquired the speedy point guard from Sacramento on Feb. 5 as part of a three-team trade with Chicago.
Fox’s season ended March 12 when he opted to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left pinky finger. Fox then sustained a right hamstring injury during the offseason as he prepared for his first full season with the Spurs.
Jeremiah Fears had 18 points and Herb Jones added 15 for the short-handed Pelicans, who were without Zion Williamson (strained left hamstring), Jordan Poole (strained left quad) and Yves Missi (illness).
After missing his first two attempts, Fox drained a stepback 3-pointer for his bucket of the season 2:21 into the second quarter. The 24-footer was the start of a personal 13-point run over 2 1/2 minutes for Fox to break a 32-all tie. He was 5 for 5 over that span, including a pair of 3-pointers to bookend the run.
Heat 136, Blazers 131
In Miami, Nikola Jovic scored a career-high 29 points off the bench and finished with nine rebounds and seven assists as the Miami Heat edged the Portland Trail Blazers 136-131 on Saturday night.
Norman Powell scored 22 points for Miami, which got 16 points from Pelle Larsson, 15 from Andrew Wiggins and a 14-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist effort from Jaime Jaquez Jr. Kel’el Ware added 12 rebounds for the Heat.
Jovic’s previous career-best was 24 points.
Deni Avdija — now averaging 25.3 points so far this season — scored 33 points for Portland, which was playing the first game of a five-game trip. The Trail Blazers got 21 points from Shaedon Sharpe, plus 18 apiece from Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant.
It came down to a back-and-forth fourth quarter, one in which neither team led by more than four until the final moments. Holiday connected on a 3-pointer with 3:26 left to tie the game at 123-all, setting the stage for the finish.
Wiggins’ 3-pointer with 1:32 left gave Miami a 132-127 lead and the Heat held on from there, improving to 4-0 at home this season. Miami also moved to 6-2 when it scores at least 115 points; the Heat are 0-2 when scoring less than 115.
Hawks 122, Lakers 102
In Atlanta, Mouhamed Gueye scored a career-high 21 points, Dyson Daniels had 10 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, and the banged-up Atlanta Hawks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-102 on Saturday night to even their record at 5-5.
The Hawks led by 30 points despite playing without three of their five starters. All-Star Trae Young is sidelined with an MCL sprain. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Nikola Durisic, Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis (rest) were also inactive.
Yet Atlanta led 37-20 after one quarter behind 11 points from Gueye, who made his second start of the season and also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Atlanta held Lakers star Luka Doncic, averaging 40 points this season, to 17 points. He also had 11 assists, five rebounds and was 4 for 6 from the free throw line. Doncic was done for the night halfway through the third quarter.
