NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Anthony Davis scored a
career-high 32 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and tied a career best with
six blocks, leading the New Orleans Pelicans over the Los Angeles Lakers
96-85 on Friday night.
Jrue Holiday had 13 points and 13
assists and Eric Gordon scored 16 for the Pelicans, who led most of the
way in their second straight win. New Orleans had lost 11 regular-season
games in a row to the Lakers.
New Orleans broke open a tight contest
with a 12-0 run in the final 3:16 that started with Davis' 16-foot
jumper and included his fast-break two-handed jam, his block of Pau
Gasol and his fast-break layup as he was fouled, the last of which had
the crowd on its feet chanting "M-V-P!"
Chris Kaman led Los Angeles with 16 points, while Nick Young and Steve Blake each scored 13.
Steve Nash was in uniform but did not
wind up playing, part of what coach Mike D'Antoni described as a plan to
rest the 39-year-old point guard in the second of games played on
back-to-back nights. The Lakers had won in Houston a night earlier and
did not arrive in New Orleans until 3 a.m. It was the second time in
seven games this season Nash was given a night off.
Jodie Meeks scored 11 points for the
Lakers, while Gasol had nine points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Hill
pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Jason Smith scored 14 points for New
Orleans. The Pelicans outshot the Lakers 43.7 percent (38 of 87) to 38.8
percent (31 of 80) and scored 14 points off turnovers, several coming
in that last decisive run. Holiday had four steals and Tyreke Evans
three.
Davis was the most productive player on the court from the beginning. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.
He asserted himself inside in the
opening minutes by rising to tip a missed shot three times before it
finally dropped in for his first points. He scored soon after by
slamming home another missed shot and hitting an 18-footer.
New Orleans held single-digit lead most
of the first half, going up by as much as seven on Evans' driving layup
as he was fouled early in the second quarter. The Lakers briefly tied
it at 38 on free throws by Kaman, but the Pelicans rebuilt their lead to
55-48 with three consecutive jumpers from about 18 feet each by
Holiday, Smith and Gordon to close the second quarter.
Los Angeles opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run, taking a brief 59-57 lead on Kaman's jumper.
Davis responded with a jumper and four
free throws to help the Pelicans slowly pull back in front, and Evans
jumper from just inside the 3-point arc gave New Orleans a 69-66 lead
heading into the fourth quarter.
NOTES:
Outgoing NBA commissioner David Stern, who'll step down at the All-Star
break in New Orleans in February, attended the game in what is his last
planned official visit to the Big Easy in his current post. Honoring
Stern were Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitch
Landrieu. After the first quarter, Stern was presented with a framed
Pelicans jersey bearing his last name and the No. 30, a nod to his three
decades as commissioner. Stern was influential in securing New Orleans'
future as an NBA city both after Hurricane Katrina and in 2010, when
the NBA made the unprecedented move of purchasing the team from
then-owner George Shinn and finding a buyer committed to keeping the
club in Louisiana long-term. That buyer was Tom Benson, who also owns of
the NFL's Saints. After Katrina, Stern said, "We were determined to do
our best to do everything possible to make sure that we would be a part
of what we knew would be the growth and redemption of New Orleans. And
we did it." ... The Pelicans' Anthony Morrow banked in a shot from about
60 feet right after the first-quarter horn had sounded, negating the
basket. He raised both arms in celebration anyway. In the first
half-minute of the second quarter, Morrow followed that up with a 3 that
counted and finished with 10 points.
