Spurs Can't Survive 40 from CJ McCollum, Fall to Pelicans Without Zion Williamson

The San Antonio Spurs headed into Thursday's matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center likely feeling like they'd been awarded some early Christmas fortune.

The Spurs were already without Keldon Johnson, but Pelicans star Zion Williamson was suddenly set to be absent as well due to a unexpected inclusion into the league's health and safety protocols.

But with both teams without their "big body," it was the Pelicans who still managed to come out victorious despite missing the more talented of the two, as New Orleans pulled away late despite San Antonio's fourth-quarter surge to win 126-117.

Along with missing All-Star Brandon Ingram, Williamson's absence was easier to handle for the Pelicans due to the stardom of guard CJ McCollum, who helped New Orleans survive San Antonio's comeback attempt. He went 7 of 14 from 3-point range while adding nine assists and eight rebounds.

Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan had a career-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists. He also went 7 of 10 from the foul line.

Both teams got off to a cold shooting start in the first handful of minutes. But the Pelicans still managed to put together a 12-0 run behind back-to-back 3s from McCollum.

And after hitting five 3s in the first meeting against the Spurs, Murphy III got once again to help build

But Sochan -- one-handed free throws and all -- fittingly embodied his hair color for the night, as he had the green light going in the second quarter. Along with his normal actvity as a defender, rebounder and passer, he nailed a 3 and continuously took advantage of his opportunities at the foul line, as he led all scorers already with a career-high 15 points headed into the locker room.

However, this impressive scoring stretch for the rookie did little to chip into the deficit, as Herbert Jones ended the half in style with seven straight points, which included a breakaway dunk just 18 seconds after he hit a 3 in the final minute.

Sochan's second half started off equally as hot, as he hit another 3 and found Romeo Langford for a cutting layup. The Spurs cut the lead to as little as 13 behind some improved shooting, but the Pelicans responded and built a new 23-point advantage.

But led by the bench efforts of newest Spur Stanley Johnson, San Antonio got to within nine after a 10-0 run to begin the fourth quarter.

McCollum clearly was tired of what he was seeing.

He single-handedly helped put the game away, nailing three straight 3s in less than a minute to put things a little too out of reach for San Antonio.

The Spurs take on the Orlando Magic on Friday.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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