Welcome back to the San Antonio Spurs, De'Aaron Fox. 

Fox scored 24 points in his season debut for the Spurs Saturday night, while Victor Wembanyama added 18 points and 18 rebounds. The Spurs held on to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 126-119 at the Frost Bank Center.

Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said it was important to get Fox back. Johnson said he is an instrumental part of the team going forward.

"He's dynamic he's done it plenty of times and it's good to have him back on the court," Johnson said. "Hopefully, we can continue to build because there is nothing like a real game."

Fox missed the first eight games with a hamstring strain and excited the crowd with the way he shot and distributed the basketball. Johnson is waiting to see what Fox does next. 

"He's an advantage creator just with the basketball in his hands," Johnson said after the game.  "Been around the league for almost a decade, he knows what things are supposed to look like and feel like and execute like. I'm looking forward to continue getting him back in the fold."

It was a slow start for Fox as he missed his first two shots, but then drained a step back triple in the second quarter. He would score 13 consecutive points in the second quarter as the Spurs broke the game open.

Stephon Castle scored 14 points to contribute to the victory. More important than the points, he had 14 assists on the night, giving him 27 over the last two games. The Spurs had eight players score in double figures.

"I think he is hitting a lot of singles," Johnson said. "He has always had dynamic athleticism and he can make the advanced plays and get his teammates a lot of good shots."

Trey Murphy III of the Pelicans led all scorers with 41 points. He had a solid night shooting the basketball, going 15-for-22 from the field and 5-of-11 from the land of three. At the conclusion of the third quarter, Murphy nailed a 45-foot heave to beat the buzzer.

Jeremiah Fears had 18 points and Herb Jones chimed in with 15. The Pelicans were short-handed as they played without Zion Williamson (strained left hamstring), Jordan Poole (strained left quad) and Yves Missi, who missed the game due to an undisclosed illness.

The Spurs led by as many as 19 in the second half, but the Pelicans kept coming back. Johnson said it is a testament to San Antonio that they can weather the storm and keep it together.

"I thought we have done a good job at responding to adversity, our competitive response has been pretty good throughout the year," Johnson said. "We have to make sure we don't dig our own hole at times."

San Antonio will continue its homestand as they welcome the Orlando Magic to town for a game Monday night.