New Orleans forward Zion Williamson dunks over Memphis center Jonas Valanciunas on Tuesday in Memphis. Brandon Dill/Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Zion Williamson scored 31 points while dominating inside, and the New Orleans Pelicans ended a three-game skid with a 144-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

Williamson, who was 13 of 16 from the field, added seven rebounds and six assists as the Pelicans finished with a season high in points. Josh Hart scored a season-high 27 points and Brandon Ingram had 22 for New Orleans.

Ja Morant scored 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting for Memphis. Kyle Anderson finished with 19 points and Dillon Brooks scored 18, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

The Pelicans won their fifth straight over the Grizzlies in the latest showdown between Williamson, the top overall pick in the 2019 draft, and Morant, who was taken second.

The Pelicans, who beat Memphis 118-109 on Feb. 6 in New Orleans, pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Memphis 38-23 to take a 101-81 lead at the end of the period.

RAPTORS 124, BUCKS 113: Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam added 23 and Toronto withstood the loss of Kyle Lowry win in Milwaukee.

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Lowry exited with a sore left ankle in the third quarter but had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes. The ankle problem caused Lowry to go to the locker room late in the first half, though he returned to start the third quarter.

Milwaukee lost its fourth straight despite getting 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks hadn’t dropped four in a row since the 2019 Eastern Conference finals against Toronto, when they blew a 2-0 lead and lost the series in six games.

Antetokounmpo nearly recorded his second straight triple-double. The two-time reigning MVP had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists Sunday in a 114-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

LAKERS 124, TIMBERWOLVES 104: LeBron James had 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists and Dennis Schröder scored 24 points, helping Los Angeles pull away from Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Montrezl Harrell pitched in 17 points for the Lakers, who stopped a seven-game losing streak at Minnesota with its first win at Target Center since March 25, 2015.

Minnesota rookie Anthony Edwards had a career-high 28 points plus seven rebounds and five assists. Karl-Anthony Towns scored a quiet 15 points for the Timberwolves, who were outscored 17-5 to start the fourth quarter after a spirited effort over the first three periods.

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Edwards, the first overall pick in the draft, hit his fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the game to cut the lead to 105-100 with 3:28 to go. Edwards was called for a charging foul on James, knocking the four-time league MVP over and negating a runner in the lane with 2:57 left, and the Timberwolves never got any closer.

PORTLAND 115, OKLAHOMA CITY 104: Damian Lillard scored 12 of his 31 points in the final 4:11 to help Portland win in Oklahoma City.

The Trail Blazers squandered a 24-point lead in the second half, then regained control behind Lillard, who made all four of his 3-point tries during the closing run while playing with five fouls.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points and Enes Kanter had eight points and 21 rebounds for Portland, which has won five straight. Lillard is averaging 30.2 points during the streak.

Portland has been rolling despite C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic being out for the past month. McCollum has a fracture in his left foot and Nurkic has a fractured right wrist.


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