Pelicans 122, Suns 116
NEW ORLEANS - Forward Anthony Davis scored 32 points, grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds and nailed a critical 3-pointer from the left of the key with 54.5 seconds left to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 122-116 victory over the Phoenix Suns Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center.
Davis' long-range jumper came with the shot clock running down and the game tied at 109. Twice earlier in the possession, Davis got the ball only to be quickly double-teamed by forward Markieff Morris and guard Eric Bledsoe.
Davis passed the ball out both times but eventually got a feed back from guard Ish Smith to drain the shot. Forward Ryan Anderson scored 29 points, and guard Eric Gordon added 20 points for New Orleans (3-11).
Smith added 17 points and eight assists as the Pelicans scored their most points of the season.
Davis also made a swooping block of a 3-point attempt by forward Mirza Teletovic from the left baseline with 21.6 seconds left, his fourth block of the game.
The Suns (7-6) were paced by guard Eric Bledsoe with 29 points.
When Davis made a layup off a feed from Eric Gordon, the Pelicans led 101-96, but forward Markieff Morris' conventional three-point play drew the Suns within 101-99 with 6:39 left.
The Suns pulled within 105-104 when Morris hit a 5-foot banker over Gordon, but forward Alonzo Gee passed up an open 3-pointer to drive the lane for a layup that gave New Orleans a 107-104 lead with 2:57 left.
Bledsoe made 3-of-4 foul shots on the Suns' next two possessions, and the game was tied at 109 with 1:13 left.
Bledsoe left the game limping early in the third quarter before returning with 2:47 left. The Pelicans finished the quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 92-85 lead into the final period.
New Orleans capped a 36-30 quarter with several hustle plays, two by Davis. On the first Davis saved the ball from going out of bounds, and the ball wound back to him for a dunk. Smith closed the half by dribbling the length of the court for a buzzer-beating layup.
The Pelicans withstood a 21-6 Phoenix run in the second quarter to take a 56-55 halftime lead, and they did it with Anderson's sharpshooting from the perimeter.
Anderson entered the game with back-to-back 30-point performances, and he was sizzling in the first half, making his first four 3-pointers and hitting 6-of-8 overall for 18 first-half points. Davis chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Suns failed to get to the free-throw line in the first quarter, which they trailed 27-21, but they worked their way into the bonus in less than two minutes of the second quarter and wound up making 14 of 15 from the foul line in the quarter.
Bledsoe was the catalyst in the 21-6 surge. He poured in 17 points and had six rebounds and six assists in the 34-29 quarter to move Phoenix within one point at halftime. Brandon Knight, coming off a 38-point performance on Friday night against Denver, missed all eight of his shot attempts in the first half.
NOTES: Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is optimistic that his team's rash of injuries is coming to an end. Reserve PG Norris Cole (ankle) and G Tyreke Evans (knee surgery) should return in early December. "We'll be happy when we don't have anyone sitting over there on the bench with suits, like we got," Gentry said. ... Gentry said he would have been content to stay with the Warriors as a lead assistant had the Pelicans head coaching job not come open. "I was not going to take a job just to have a job as a head coach, unless it was a situation that was going to give me an opportunity to win and win big and compete for a championship," he said. ... Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said PG Brandon Knight, coming off a career-high 38 points against Denver, has picked up his game. "He's shooting the ball well." Hornacek said. "He feels comfortable with what we're doing now."