The New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 22-point deficit to win Wednesday night.
The Detroit Pistons lost despite holding an 18-point lead Wednesday night.
Both teams will complete back-to-back sets when the Pelicans host the Pistons on Thursday night.
CJ McCollum scored 29 points to lead New Orleans’ comeback in a 110-106 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He made 10 of 17 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 8 3-point attempts, and added 11 rebounds and five assists.
New Orleans, which trailed 47-25 midway through the second quarter, finished the first half on an 18-4 run, then outscored the Thunder 67-55 in the second half despite playing its second consecutive game without leading scorer Brandon Ingram (knee).
The Pelicans were coming off a home game in which they trailed by two points at halftime before seeing the Golden State Warriors run away to a 130-102 win. But when the Thunder threatened to run away, New Orleans fought back.
New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and nine rebounds in just 21 minutes.
The Pistons led the Trail Blazers 59-41 late in the second quarter before Portland scored the final six points of the period and outscored Detroit 63-42 in the second half.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, who scored a game-high 30 points, committed five of his six turnovers in the second half. The Pistons lost the ball 18 times in the game, continuing an early-season problem that has seen them average a league-worst 18.6 giveaways.
Detroit had excelled on the glass, averaging an NBA-best 50.8 boards per game before Wednesday, but they were outrebounded 44-38 by Portland.
Williams also lamented a significant disparity in free throws as the Blazers made 27 of 33 and the Pistons made 10 of 11. New Orleans won both meetings with Detroit last season by six points and has won five in a row against the Pistons.
