J.J. REDICK

J.

Trae Young silenced a rocking road crowd in New York in his first playoff game.

Luka Doncic had 18 points and 13 assists and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 17-point deficit for a 108-93 win over Los Angeles in Lakers star Anthony Davis’ second game back from a long injury absence.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket over Utah Jazz forward Georges Niang, left, and center Rudy Gobert, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Monday, March 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)NEW ORLEANS – Zion Williamson had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans held off a late Utah charge to beat the NBA-leading Jazz 129-124 on Monday night. Williamson scored 15 points and added a pair of assists in the quarter. ... Utah had its highest scoring second quarter of the season with 41 points ... Utah shot 45.5% (46 of 101), including 17 of 43 from 3-point range. Pelicans: Hart scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds.

New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Bledsoe (5) dribbles against Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)MIAMI – Erik Spoelstra remained perfect on Christmas, and a record-tying show from Duncan Robinson helped him stay that way. Robinson made seven 3-pointers — tying the most on Christmas ever — and scored 23 points, and the Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 to start the NBA’s holiday quintupleheader Friday. Spoelstra moved to 8-0 on Christmas as coach of the Heat. COMING HOMEVeteran ref John Goble was crew chief and got to be home for Christmas; he’s a Miami native.

Van Gundy agreed to a four-year contract, according to one of the people who spoke Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been announced. Van Gundy has a track record of bridging that gap between knowledge and talent with younger players in his previous coaching stops. “There is a lot of teaching to do to bring these guys along,” Van Gundy said Tuesday during a formal introduction via video conference because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the Pelicans, Van Gundy said, he saw ownership that had won a championship in a major professional sport, even if it was the NFL. Van Gundy called Williamson and Ingram “two of the most unique young guys in the entire league.”“There's just a lot to build around there,” he added.

Scoring numbers are soaring inside the NBAs bubble, where the restarted season is happening at Walt Disney World. Games on average have seen nine points more than what had been the norm this season. There was a six-game NBA schedule on Feb. 21, 1988, and all the teams playing that night scored at least 110 points. That hadnt happened, on a day of five or more games, again in the NBA until July 31 the second day of bubble games. And the fact that, you know, the skill sets of NBA players are increasing exponentially by the month.

A win by the Trail Blazers over Philadelphia would eliminate New Orleans from postseason consideration. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry called it a Game 7-type game beforehand but stayed with the plan of playing Williamson in short bursts. In the fourth, Gentry took Williamson out with 6:53 left, putting him back in for the last-ditch try about two minutes later. Williamson scored the next eight points by himself, kick-starting what became a 28-12 run by the Pelicans to end the quarter. DeRozan scored inside on the next San Antonio possession, and a late 8-0 spurt by the Spurs sealed the deal.

The Kings shot 54%. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram each scored 24 points for the Pelicans. JJ Redick scored 18 points and Jrue Holiday added 17 for the Pelicans, who shot 57%. The Kings pulled even with the Pelicans in the standings and now are 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Memphis with four games remaining. Kings: Shot 78% in the first quarter.

Williamson had 23 points, seven rebounds and tied a career high with five assists in his most extensive playing time since returning to the NBA bubble. Williamson drove the lane in the third quarter and landed awkwardly, losing his left shoe. However, the big man quickly put the shoe back on and remained in the game. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 22 points for the Grizzlies, who fell to 0-3 since the NBA restart. Pelicans: Play Sacramento on Thursday.

He scored 13 points in just more than 15 minutes, highlighted by a couple alley-oop dunks, one on a nearly half-court lob from Lonzo Ball. But Williamson checked out for good with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter and watched the tense finish from the sideline. Thats all it is.Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points for Utah and helped lead a second-half comeback, while Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each added 20. When Jordan has space on the floor to work, hes really difficult to guard," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. The Jazz went 8 of 34 from 3-point range but scored 54 points in the paint and went 24 of 28 on foul shots.

The games start Thursday night at Walt Disney World, and here's 10 things to know as the season enters its restart phase. SHORTER SEASONIf all the seeding games get played, then this NBA season would include 1,059 games a drop of 171 from what was planned when the season began. Its now on pace for somewhere around 25,700 3-pointers which would be just shy of the second-most in a season in NBA history. That would be the record; the NBA had 12 teams finish there in the 2009-10 season. REDICKS STREAKNew Orleans guard JJ Redick has played 13 previous NBA seasons, going to the playoffs in all of them.

Thats it.The NBA shut down on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Coaches believe they are off to a strong start in trying to spark change and are vowing to continue. You know, its funny, whenever we talk about justice, people try to change the message, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. He also cringes at the notion of calling Black Lives Matter a movement. He prefers to call it a lifestyle. Adebayo points out players want the world to be reminded that Taylors family has waited just as long for justice.