Zion Williamson drove to the basket for an emphatic dunk over 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama on the opening possession Friday night, igniting the Smoothie King Center crowd in a matchup of franchise cornerstones.

The rest of the home opener did not play out the same way for Williamson or the size-challenged New Orleans Pelicans, who lost 120-116 in overtime to the Spurs while Wembanyama nearly recorded a triple-double before fouling out with 4:17 left in the extra session.

After Williamson missed a free throw that would have given the Pelicans the lead with 12.2 seconds left in regulation and Wembanyama was nowhere close on a baseline turnaround at the buzzer, Wembanyama gave San Antonio a lead it would not relinquish in overtime by spinning past rookie Derik Queen f

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