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Ingram, Williamson power Pelicans over Raptors

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New Orleans, US: Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and Zion Williamson added 21 as the host New Orleans Pelicans completed a season-series sweep of the Toronto Raptors with a 120-116 victory on Saturday night.


Eric Bledsoe added 19 points and 10 assists, Steven Adams had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Lonzo Ball scored 13 for the Pelicans, who defeated the host Raptors 113-99 in their season opener last month.


Fred VanVleet scored 27, Chris Boucher added 24, OG Anunoby had 17, Kyle Lowry had 16 and Norman Powell 12 to lead Toronto. Pascal Siakam returned to the Raptors lineup after a one-game benching for disciplinary reasons and had 10 points but fouled out with 8:30 remaining.


New Orleans had a 101-89 lead with 8:30 remaining before Toronto started to rally. Anunoby converted a three-point play and he and Norman Powell made back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Toronto within 109-108.


Ingram made one of two free throws before VanVleet made a 3-pointer that gave the Raptors a 111-110 lead. Adams made one of two free throws before Lowry’s layup gave Toronto a 113-111 lead with 2:47 left.


Ingram tied the score by making two free throws, then Bledose made a 3-pointer to give New Orleans a 116-113 lead with 42 seconds left.


After Anunoby made one of two free throws, Ingram made two free throws with 12 seconds left. The Raptors led by five points at half-time, but the Pelicans tied the score three times early in the third quarter.


Bledsoe broke the third tie by making two free throws. There were two lead exchanges and another tie by the mid-point of the third quarter.


Williamson made two free throws and Steven Adams hit a jumper to give New Orleans a four-point lead.


Toronto briefly regained a one-point lead, but Josh Hart’s 3-pointer put the Pelicans ahead and Bledsoe beat the buzzer to extend the lead to 87-82 at the end of the third quarter.


This game started a four-game home-stand for New Orleans, which played four of its first five games on the road.


CAVALIERS WIN


Collin Sexton scored 27 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 27.9 seconds left, to lead the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to a 96-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.


Sexton was 10-for-18 from the floor and extended his streak of 20-point games to 11 to help the Cavs erase a 15-point second-half deficit and break a two-game losing streak.


Andre Drummond had 12 points and 11 rebounds to set a franchise record with six double-doubles to open the season.


The Hawks, who were playing the second leg of a back-to-back, grew weary in the second half.


Trae Young scored a season-low 16 points, 14 below his season average, and had 10 assists. Clint Capela had a season-high 16 points and 16 rebounds, his second straight double-double, and De’Andre Hunter scored 17.


The Cavaliers, who had only 10 available players, got 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench from JaVale McGee. The Hawks, who defeated the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, started strong.


They were sparked by Hunter’s 12 points in the first quarter and led 35-25.


The Cavs shot poorly in the half, making only 42.2 per cent from the field and 2-for-11 on 3-pointers.


— Reuters


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