Pelicans tip Celtics for first home win
NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis scored 25 points and guard Tim Frazier made two foul shots in the final 14.8 seconds to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to their first home victory of the season, a 106-105 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pelicans led 100-99 with 2:16 left when Langston Galloway, who had 21 points, hit a 17-foot jumper from the left wing. Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, who scored a game-high 37 points, came right back with a 3-pointer from the right wing, and Boston led 102-100.
Davis was fouled on a rebound and made two free throws to tie the game at 102 with 1:31 remaining.
Each team missed on its next possession, but Thomas drove the lane against Davis and picked up a blocking foul, making one of two foul shots for a 103-102 Boston lead with 33.1 seconds left.
The Pelicans then went to Davis, who missed a jumper in the lane but got his own rebound and was fouled. Davis made both free throws, and New Orleans led 104-103 with 24.7 seconds left.
Avery Bradley got matched up against Davis on Boston's next possession, and he fired up a 3-pointer that Davis grazed, causing it to come up short. Boston kept possession with 15.3 seconds left when the ball went off Solomon Hill's hand.
However, Frazier stole the inbounds pass from Amir Johnson and was fouled. He made one foul shot to extend the New Orleans lead to 105-103 lead with 14.8 seconds left.
After Thomas tied it at 105 with a left-handed layup, Frazier drew a foul on a pump fake and made one free throw for the winning margin.
The Pelicans (2-9) led 93-83 before Boston scored the next six points -- four by Thomas -- to close within four with 8:02 left.
Thomas continued pressing the offense, looking for driving lanes whenever he had the ball, and by the time he scored 12 fourth-quarter points, the Celtics (5-5) were within 98-95 with 3:38 left.
New Orleans scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take its biggest lead, 65-51, on a 3-pointer from the left baseline by Dante Cunningham. The Celtics came right back with a 14-3 run, closing the gap to 68-65.
Terrence Jones grabbed two strong offensive rebounds that led to baskets, and the Pelicans were on top 84-74 entering the fourth quarter.
The Celtics came out sizzling from the perimeter in the first quarter, but the Pelicans used a 13-6 run to tie the game at 15. Davis scored 11 first-quarter points and had five rebounds and three steals as New Orleans took a 27-26 lead.
The Pelicans pushed the ball inside in the first half and shot 54 percent from the field, taking a 56-51 halftime lead. Galloway came off the bench for New Orleans to hit 6 of 7 shots, and he led the Pelicans with 14 first-half points. Davis added 13 despite seeming to labor running the court, the result of a back injury he sustained Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics got 15 first-half points from Bradley and 12 from Thomas.
NOTES: Celtics C Al Horford, who sustained a concussion in practice more than two weeks ago, flew back to Boston before Monday night's game against the Pelicans to get ready for a full-go practice on Tuesday, Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "I don't want to put a timetable on it because I think it's all about how he feels day to day," Stevens said. "Once we made that decision (to not have Horford play Monday night), we actually got him a flight and got him home." ... The Pelicans are likely to get PG Jrue Holiday back this week, coach Alvin Gentry said. He missed all of training camp and the first month of the season caring for his wife Lauren, who gave birth to their first child and then underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. "It's probably going to be within the week, for sure, maybe within a few days," Gentry said. ... With the Pelicans' victory, the Denver Nuggets are the only NBA team yet to win at home.