Pelicans rout Hawks despite Davis injury
ATLANTA -- The New Orleans Pelicans, who began the season 2-10, turned things around with a three-game winning streak. The Atlanta Hawks, who were 9-2 after a six-game winning streak, are heading the other way with three defeats in a row.
The Pelicans were without all-star Anthony Davis for much of Tuesday night's game because of a right knee contusion, but still rolled to a 112-94 victory over the Hawks.
Tim Frazier had career highs of 21 points and 14 assists for the Pelicans, who led by 35 points in the third quarter. Terrance Jones scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half.
Davis was hurt diving into the stands trying to save a loose ball late in the first quarter, crashing into seats in the fourth row. He returned to start the fourth quarter although the Pelicans led 95-71 and finished with 13 points.
The Pelicans' winning streak coincides with the return of Jrue Holiday after the point guard missed the first 12 games to be with his wife, who had surgery for a brain tumor, and their newborn child.
Holiday, who totaled 43 points and 16 assists in his first two games back, played 27 minutes against the Hawks and had 15 points and four assists.
Dennis Schroder, who missed all eight of his shots in the Hawks' loss in New York on Sunday, had 14 points and seven assists. Kyle Korver also scored 14, hitting 4 of 5 3-point attempts.
The Pelicans shot 63.6 percent in the first quarter and held the Hawks to 26.1 percent shooting while taking a 34-14 lead.
Despite being without Davis, the Pelicans went up 49-19 with four minutes gone in the second quarter was ahead 66-44 at halftime after making 6 of 11 shots from behind the 3-point arc.
Jones, who skipped the morning shootaround because he wasn't feeling well, made his first five shots and had 15 points at intermission.
Davis, who came in averaging 31.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, had six points on 3-for-4 shooting when he was hurt. He missed a game last week with a stained right quad has been plagued by injuries during his career.
NOTES: G/F Thabo Sefolosha returned for the Hawks after missing the previous three games because of a sprained left ankle. He scored six points in 23 minutes. ... G Jrue Holiday again came off the bench in his third game back with the Pelicans. ... The Hawks open a five-game road trip -- their longest of the season -- at Indiana on Wednesday. ... The Hawks are 3-0 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... The meeting with the Pacers will be the first chance for former Hawks G Jeff Teague to face his old team. ... After playing at Indiana, the Hawks go west for four games over six days. ... The Pelicans return to New Orleans to play Minnesota on Wednesday. ... The Pelicans are 1-3 at the end of two games in as many days.