LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs came to the NBA's restart bubble looking to develop their young talent.
The playoffs might be a nice bonus.
For Zion Williamson, postseason hopes have to wait until next year.
DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points, Rudy Gay added 19 off the bench and the Spurs wasted much of a 20-point, second-half lead before hanging on to beat New Orleans 122-113 on Sunday. The loss, combined with Portland's victory over Philadelphia later Sunday, eliminated New Orleans from playoff contention.
"We've just got to put ourselves in a better position to win," Williamson said.
The Spurs -- bidding to become the first team in NBA history to make 23 consecutive playoff appearances -- moved past idle Phoenix into 10th place in the West, a half-game behind Portland for the No. 9 spot that comes with a berth in the play-in series this coming weekend.
"I think it'd be huge," said Popovich, the Spurs' coach. "If we're able to be in that ninth spot, that's quite a victory and it says a lot about how this young group has come together with three of the starters out. I'm already thrilled with how they played, and it'd be really fantastic if we could get that."
Dejounte Murray scored 18 for the Spurs. Derrick White added 16 before leaving early in the third quarter with a bruised knee.
JJ Redick scored 31 points with a season-high eight three-pointers for New Orleans, which got 25 from Williamson and 17 from Brandon Ingram.
"We just didn't have any competitive spirit to start the game," said Redick, who will miss the playoffs for the first time in his basketball life -- spanning high school, college and the NBA levels. "We were flat. We weren't talking. That's what it comes down to."
Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry called it a Game 7-type game beforehand but stayed with the plan of playing Williamson in short bursts. Williamson started the first, second and third quarters, coming out around the midway point of each.
"We're not there yet," Popovich said. "But we've made a lot progress, for sure."
In other games Sunday, Damian Lillard scored 51 points after a frustrating finish a night earlier, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 124-121. It was a day of redemption for the star point guard. On Saturday, he missed a pair of free throws with 18.6 seconds to go and a three-pointer with 9.5 seconds left in a 122-117 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Portland bounced back and pulled within a half-game of Memphis for eighth place in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers increased their chances of qualifying for the play-in series, which will start Saturday. The 76ers lost much more than the game. All-Star center Joel Embiid left in the first quarter with what the team called a left ankle injury, and he did not return. He contested a shot, then backed up and stepped awkwardly into the stanchion. He had been averaging 30 points per game since the restart. ... Gordon Hayward hit three free throws with 2:29 left in overtime, and the Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 122-119 for their third consecutive victory. The Celtics hadn't scored in overtime until Hayward went to the line after being fouled by Nikola Vucevic. His free throws put Boston up 115-114. Hayward finished with 31 points and Jayson Tatum scored 29, including the tying basket with 4.2 seconds left in regulation. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Brad Wanamaker had 10 points. ... Pascal Siakam scored 26 points to help the Toronto Raptors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 108-99. Norman Powell scored 16 points and Kyle Lowry added 15 for the Raptors, who clinched the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and their fifth consecutive season with at least 50 wins. Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Grayson Allen matched a season high with 20 and Ja Morant had 17 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies. ... Rookie Darius Bazley scored a career-high 23 points off the bench, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Washington Wizards 121-103. Bazley was 5 of 8 from three-point range. Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 18 as Oklahoma City led from the opening bucket and improved to 3-2 in the seeding games. Mike Muscala also scored 18 points. Chris Paul had 13 points and nine assists, and Hamidou Diallo finished with 13 points for the Thunder.
