The New Orleans Pelicans claimed their second victory over the Toronto Raptors this season as they defeated the Canadian team 120-116 at the Smoothie King Center on Saturday.

Perhaps the Raptors had too much fear of Zion Williamson who averages 15.2 points in the paint per game, the third-highest among big men so far this season. Coach Nick Nurse made careful defensive arrangements on him. The Raptors kept switching between different types of zone defense to protect the hoop, so whenever Williamson tried to post up, he would be trapped immediately.

As a result, Williamson only scored six points in the first half. Meanwhile, however, the Pelicans drained nine triples at a 3-point rate of 36 percent. Brandon Ingram, who is the Pelicans' best off-the-dribble shooter, went 5-10 outside the paint to get 17 points.

Though Williamson still seemed green in many cases, he changed his playstyle in the second half by doing more off-ball plays like fast breaks or backdoor cuts. Such changes immediately worked because the Raptors had no match for Williamson's combination of power and athleticism. The 20-year-old was 6-9 in the second half to score 15 points.

Of course, at least currently, the Pelicans' No. 1 ace is still Ingram. Though he, like the rest on the floor, grew cold from the third quarter, Ingram still managed to put down another 14 points in the second half. Having missed both shots from downtown in Q4, Ingram still drew nine free throws and made seven of them.

The Pelicans still have a lot of problems but the growth of Ingram and Williamson mean the team is on the correct path of going up.

Compared with them, the Raptors are on their way down and the process seems unavoidable. Like any small-market team that became surprisingly successful (winning a title), the Raptors first saw their franchise player leave (Kawhi Leonard); then other important pieces departed as well (Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka); in order to remain competitive, the team decided to give a big contract to one of their seemingly best young men (Pascal Siakam), but that move is looking more and more like a mistake as time goes on.

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

Sacramento Kings 94-102 Houston Rockets

James Harden had to sit out Saturday's game at home because of injury, but the Rockets managed to pocket their second straight win thanks to the incredible performance by the rest of the team. John Wall, Eric Gordon and Christian Wood all scored 20+points. Wall also delivered three steals and two blocks.

According to Mark Berman of Fox 26, Wall said: "I feel like I'm the best shot-blocking point guard of all time since I stepped foot in the league."

New York Knicks 106-102 Indiana Pacers

As one of the worst teams in the NBA in the past five years, the New York Knicks have been quite surprising this season. On Saturday, they upset the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to reach 3-3 after six games. Five of their players reached double-digit points, led by R.J. Barrett who was 4-5 behind the triple line to get 25.

The Pacers suffered their second loss this season. Malcolm Brogdon making seven 3-points and getting court-high 33 points failed to top that from happening.

Oklahoma City Thunder 108-99 Orlando Magic

When 34-year-old George Hill and Al Horford were not traded to OKC during the offseason, many thought they came to finish the last few years of their career while providing some guidance to young blood like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It turned out they could do more. Hill scored 18 points, five assists and three triples in 27 minutes, which were the second-, second- and best of the team. Horford's 12 points, six rebounds and four assists were nothing astonishing, but he buried the 3-pointer in the last minute to kill the game for OKC.

Chris Paul spent one season, watching his reputation changing from "over-paid old guard" to "valuable experienced asset." Perhaps Hill and Horford could follow that path too.

Charlotte Hornets 112-127 Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers added two shooters, Danny Green and Seth Curry, during the offseason, hoping that it could create better spacing and help both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid feel more comfortable in the game. It remains unknown whether the duo feel better than before, but at the 76ers are winning. After the home win on Saturday, they topped the Eastern Conference with a 5-1 record.

The 76ers sank 16 triples at 45.71-percent 3-point rate in the game. Curry, Green, Tobias Harris and Shake Milton contributed three, three, four and three respectively. Simmons claimed his first triple-double (15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists) of the season.

Cleveland Cavaliers 96-91 Atlanta Hawks

When the Hawks led 56-44 in the first half, no one thought that one of the league's best offensive teams this season would get only 35 points in the second half. Trae Young only had 16 points, failing to reach 20 in scoring for the first time this season.

On the Cavaliers' side, Collin Sexton carried on his brilliant scoring performance as he went 18-10 to get game-high 27 points. He also became the second one after LeBron James in franchise history to keep scoring 20+points in all first six games of season.