His comeback assists the Pelicans in continuing to pound the Spurs….

Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double and Trey Murphy III scored 18 points in his season debut as the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the San Antonio Spurs 121-106 on Friday night. Valanciunas scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Pelicans won their second game in a row. Murphy returned from arthroscopic knee surgery to shoot 7 of 13 from the floor and sink four 3-pointers. New Orleans’ CJ McCollum added 19 points and eight assists, Herbert Jones scored 17, Brandon Ingram logged 14 points and seven assists and Zion Williamson had 12 points and seven assists. San Antonio rookie No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama missed a game for the first time, with the team stating he had right hip tightness. Eight Spurs players scored in double figures, though the team lost its 14th consecutive game, two shy of the franchise record set last season. Devin Vassell scored 14, Jeremy Sochan had 13, Zach Collins and Julian Champagnie added 12 each, Cedi Osman and Keldon Johnson scored 11 apiece, and Malaki Branham and Tre Jones had 10 each. Champagnie made a 3-pointer to start the third-quarter scoring and give San Antonio a one-point lead. The Pelicans answered with a 17-5 run to take an 80-69 lead. Herbert Jones made two 3-pointers and scored eight points to lead the spurt. Vassell made a field goal for San Antonio before New Orleans expanded the lead to 13 points. The Spurs closed within five points before Murphy made a 3-pointer to give the Pelicans an 89-81 lead at the end of the period. San Antonio got within five points, but McCollum answered with a jumper. The Spurs got within five again, but McCollum made another basket and Murphy added a 3-pointer. Murphy made another 3-pointer to complete a 10-0 run that pushed New Orleans’ lead to 103-88. The score was tied four times and the lead changed hands seven times in the first quarter. Murphy’s basket finished the scoring and gave New Orleans a 32-31 lead at the end of the period. New Orleans finished the second quarter with a 7-2 run. Naji Marshall (10 points) beat the buzzer with a basket that gave the Pelicans a 63-61 halftime lead.