Davis returns to lead Pelicans over Blazers
NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis returned from a one-game absence, Jrue Holiday made his season debut and that duo led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 113-101 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Davis, who missed an 89-82 loss at Orlando on Thursday because of a bruised quad, scored a game-high 38 points. Holiday, who sat out training camp and missed the first 12 games of the season to be with his wife Lauren, who gave birth to the couple's first child and underwent brain surgery, came off the bench to score 21.
Terrence Jones, who started in Davis' place and scored a career-high 26 points against Orlando, came off the bench to score 15. Tim Frazier, who has started at point guard in Holiday's absence, scored 12 and E'Twaun Moore had 11.
Damian Lillard led Portland with 27 points, C.J. McCollum scored 24, Mason Plumlee had 13 and Maurice Harkless 10.
Led by Holiday, the New Orleans bench outscored the Portland bench, 46-35.
The Blazers (7-7), losing a night after they lost at Houston to start a five-game road trip, visit Brooklyn on Sunday. New Orleans (3-10) hosts Charlotte on Saturday.
The Blazers cut a 13-point halftime deficit to eight points early in the third quarter, but Davis responded with six straight points.
Holiday scored six points as the Pelicans took an 88-75 lead after three quarters.
Portland did not get the deficit to fewer than 10 points during the fourth quarter.
Holiday entered the game late in the first quarter and had three points and one assists as the Pelicans took a 31-28 lead after one quarter.
Davis was quiet for much of the first half, but heated up during the final five minutes of the second quarter.
He went nearly 15 minutes without scoring, but New Orleans still had a 45-41 lead midway through the second quarter.
Davis made three baskets and two free throws as he scored eight consecutive Pelicans points. Rookie Buddy Hield ended the streak with a jumper before Davis made consecutive baskets.
Hield made a 3-pointer before Davis finished the first-half scoring with a layup that gave New Orleans a 64-51 halftime lead.
Lillard led the Blazers with 14 first-half points, despite committing two fouls in less than the first three minutes. He made just 5-of-15 shots.
Plumlee had 5-of-6 shots and scored 10 points.
The Pelicans shot 58.7 percent (27-of-46) and the Blazers shot 36.2 percent (17-of-47).
New Orleans had just one turnover and Portland had four.
NOTES: The game was Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry's 800th regular-season game as an NBA head coach in a career that includes stints with four other franchises -- the Suns, Clippers, Pistons and Heat. ... New Orleans F Dante Cunningham (2009-11) and G Tim Frazier (2015-16) played for Portland. ... Blazers F Al-Farouq Aminu played with the Pelicans from 2011-14. Aminu (left calf) and Blazers C Festus Ezeli (left knee) did not dress. ... Pelicans G/F Tyreke Evans (right knee) and G/F Quincy Pondexter (left knee) did not dress. ... Portland won three of four games against New Orleans last season and has won the season series each of the last three seasons. ... The Pelicans entered the game with the worst 3-point shooting percentage (.291) in the NBA. "We need better shooting," Gentry said. "That's the key for us right now."