Spurs at Pelicans
The much-anticipated debut of rookie Zion Williamson takes place Wednesday when his New Orleans Pelicans host the San Antonio Spurs. The top pick in last June's draft after one standout season at Duke, Williamson has been sidelined since the preseason with a knee injury.
"It's going to be a circus and everyone knows that," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters Monday of Williamson's debut. "What we have to do is focus on the task at hand and that is playing a really good San Antonio team." The athletic forward will join a team that has won 10 of its last 14 games after a 126-116 victory at Memphis on Monday. The Spurs began a two-game road trip with a 120-118 win at Phoenix on Monday. Bryn Forbes scored all 24 of his points on a career-high eight 3-pointers - seven in the first half - and San Antonio survived a late charge by the Suns to improve to 12-9 since a 7-14 start.
TIME: 9:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN, FS Southwest, FS New Orleans
ABOUT THE SPURS (19-23): Derrick White scored a season-high 25 points in Monday's win as he and Forbes combined to make 12-of-16 3-pointers, with Forbes hitting a key triple to regain the lead with 2:33 left. "It felt good, man. It felt good to see a big shot go down," Forbes told reporters. "I think my teammates did a great job finding me, slashing and kicking. Just keep shooting. It should be the same mentality always -- ups, downs, keep shooting." LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan combined for 37 points and DeRozan handed out eight assists to give him 26 over the past three games.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (17-27): Gentry is hoping for a smooth transition when he incorporates Williamson into a lineup that is flourishing behind star forward Brandon Ingram (25.6 points per game) and guard Jrue Holiday (20.1). "I think he'll pretty much play like he did in the preseason," Gentry said. "I don't foresee a ton of adjustments. We'll stick him out there and play him." Holiday returned from an elbow injury Monday that cost him seven games to score a season-high-tying 36 points in the win over Memphis.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Ingram is averaging 31.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and six assists over his last three games.
2. DeRozan has shot under 50 percent from the floor in back-to-back contests after hitting on at least half of his attempts in 13 straight games.
3. San Antonio won three of four meetings in 2018-19. The teams will play three more times in under a month near the end of the season.