NEW ORLEANS — Zion Williamson scored 26 points and Brandon Ingram iced the game with six points to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 119-106 victory over the Houston Rockets. Also, the Golden State Warriors rallied past the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-101.
The Pelicans led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter only to fall behind by eight early in the fourth quarter.
After New Orleans answered with a 16-4 run to take a 106-102 lead on Ingram´s spinning layup, Kevin Porter Jr. tied the game at 106 on a drive through the lane with 2:58 left.
New Orleans then scored the game´s final 13 points, with Ingram hitting a pair of free throws and Jose Alvarado, a sparkplug reserve point guard, nailing a 3-pointer from the left wing for a 111-106 lead. Houston had four turnovers in the final 2:25.
Alvarado had eight of his 12 points in a dominant final quarter to go along with four assists and three steals in the final 11 minutes.
“He was amazing,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said according to AP. “He was all over the place. We needed his energy. We needed his effort. It was Jose being Jose.”
Williamson was efficient, going 8 of 9 from the field and powering inside at will against a defense that gave him more one-on-one opportunities than usual. He also went 10 of 12 from the line.
Elsewhere, as Stephen Curry approaches his mid-30s, Steve Kerr marvels at the superstar’s fitness and his ability to continue to take over games.
“You run out of adjectives to describe Steph´s play,” Golden State’s coach said according to AP.
Curry hit a tying 3-pointer with 1:18 to play, a go-ahead layup moments later off a perfect, long pass by Kevon Looney, then one more dagger 3 on the way to 40 points, rallying the Warriors past the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-101
Donovan Mitchell had 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland, but went down hard grabbing at his right ankle in the waning moments. He got up and hit a pair of free throws with 12.4 seconds left.
Curry extended his NBA record to 200 straight regular-season games with at least one 3-pointer and shot 6 of 11 from deep.
“He’s just amazing night after night. He’s in such great shape,” Kerr said. “If there’s one area that he’s dramatically better now than when I first got here eight years ago it’s just his strength and conditioning.”
“He’s much bigger and stronger, much more capable of defending at a really high level and sustaining two-way basketball for an entire game and just knocking down shots from all over and finishing at the rim. He’s unbelievable,” he said.
A rarity: Curry missed two free throws over the final 17.6 seconds, but delivered a second straight 40-point performance.
