Pelicans 99, 76ers 74
Anthony Davis collected 32 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as New Orleans eased past visiting Philadelphia.
Davis, who sat out a loss at the 76ers on Jan. 16, went 12-of-19 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line while Ryan Anderson added 19 points off the bench for the Pelicans. Eric Gordon scored 13 points and Tyreke Evans matched a season high with 12 assists as New Orleans won its season-high fourth straight.
K.J. McDaniels scored 16 off the bench as Philadelphia suffered its sixth straight loss. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Henry Sims each scored 14 points for the 76ers, who have gone 22 straight games without reaching 100 points.
Davis’ putback capped a 19-7 run ending the first quarter to put the Pelicans in front by 11 and the lead spread to 13 on Gordon’s 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the half before Philadelphia cut it to nine points at the break. Evans buried a 3-pointer and Gordon converted a three-point play to spread it to 60-44 just over two minutes into the third.
The 76ers put together a brief run to pull within 61-53 before Davis scored seven straight points and totaled 11 during a 24-9 run that closed the third quarter. Anderson’s basket opening the fourth quarter made it a 25-point cushion and the New Orleans reserves put it away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Pelicans (24-21) are three games over .500 for the first time since the then-Hornets ended the 2010-11 season at 46-36. … Philadelphia G Michael Carter-Williams sat out due to illness and is day-to-day. … Evans has posted 12 assists in back-to-back games and has 32 in the last three contests.