Evans helps Pelicans win without Davis
NEW YORK -- Tyreke Evans scored 14 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame the absence of Anthony Davis by executing down the stretch of a 104-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Evans, who missed the first 26 games of the season while recovering from right knee surgery, made 10 of 15 shots in a season-high 27 minutes. It was the first time he scored more than 25 points since Jan. 10, 2016, against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Davis (left hip) missed his second game of the season due to injury after being listed as questionable following the hard foul from New York Knicks forward Kyle O'Quinn. The Pelicans received little from centers Omer Asik and Donatas Motiejunas, who combined for one point on 0-of-7 shooting.
Instead contributions came from other sources as New Orleans (16-24) won for the sixth time in nine games.
Terrence Jones added 24 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double, Jrue Holiday contributed 21 points while Solomon Hill chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Brook Lopez scored 20 points as the Nets (8-30) dropped their season-high eighth straight game and lost for the 25th time in their last 29 games. Sean Kilpatrick added 18 points as the Nets took a lead into the fourth quarter for only the seventh time this season but shot 6 of 18 and committed seven turnovers in the final 12 minutes
The Nets held a six-point lead early in the fourth and the Pelicans went on a 13-4 run over the next three-plus minutes. New Orleans took an 87-86 on a 3-pointer by Holiday, and on Brooklyn's next possession, Evans stole the ball from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and coasted in for a layup with 7:24 left.
Brooklyn regained the lead over two minutes later on a 3-pointer by Kilpatrick to make it 92-89.
The Nets held a one-point lead for nearly two minutes before Lopez hit a hook shot. New Orleans regained the lead at 95-94 when Jones hit a high-arcing bank jumper over Lopez with 2:44 left and never trailed again.
Following a timeout, Evans drove by multiple defenders and converted a reverse layup with 2:16 left for a 97-94 edge. Following a missed 3 by Caris LeVert, Jones rolled to the hoop for a two-handed dunk with 1:41 left. Less than a minute later, he sealed it with another hoop.
NOTES: Nets G Jeremy Lin gave a Chinese-language interview and said he hopes to be playing in a week or two and if the decision was in his hands, he would have returned from a second strained left hamstring. Coach Kenny Atkinson did not provide an update, only saying Lin is "progressing nicely." ... New Orleans experienced a rarity in its schedule with five nights in New York after arriving from Boston late Saturday night. The quirk prompted coach Alvin Gentry to quip that he might need to "take out a small business" loan to cover to costs of eating out. ... In the latest round of All-Star voting released by the NBA on Thursday, Davis was fourth in the voting among Western Conference voting and Lin was eighth amongst Eastern Conference guards.