Holiday, Davis lead Pelicans by Spurs
NEW ORLEANS -- Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 23 points and had 11 assists and Anthony Davis scored 16 points and grabbed 22 rebounds to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 119-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Friday night in the Smoothie King Center.
The victory for the Pelicans (19-28) snapped the Spurs' five-game winning streak, and it also ended San Antonio's streak of five consecutive victories over the Pelicans. The 119 points were the most allowed by the Spurs this season.
The Spurs were paced by Kawhi Leonard with 23 points, but no other Spur scored more than 14 points as San Antonio shot 38.8 percent
Tyreke Evans hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and a twisting reverse layup in a 7-0 New Orleans run to start the fourth quarter, putting the Pelicans up 92-84.
Terrence Jones then made a layup off a nifty feed from Holiday and Solomon Hill, a shaky perimeter shooter, made a 3-pointer to put the Pelicans up 100-90 with?6:32?left.
Holiday added another 3-pointer from the top of the key to keep New Orleans ahead 105-95, with 4:43 remaining. Jones made a 3-pointer from the right wing on a great feed from Holiday and Evans scored another basket on a drive into the lane, pushing New Orleans to its biggest lead, 110-95, at 3:32.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich then emptied his bench.
The Pelicans trailed 66-55 early in the third quarter, but they closed the period with a 30-18 run to take an 85-84 lead into the final period. New Orleans shot 15 of 23 from the floor in the 37-27 quarter.
The Spurs used a 37-25 second quarter to take a 57-48 halftime lead. Leonard missed his first three shots of the game and was scoreless in the first quarter, but he scored 14 points in the second period, including all 7 of his free throws to spark San Antonio on offense.
David Lee added 10 points for the Spurs in the first half.
The Pelicans' got 12 points and five assists from Holiday, but they hurt themselves by not being able to score on some point-blank shots near the basket. Davis played despite his sore thigh, and he had nine points and 11 rebounds in the first half.
NOTES: New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said he appreciates F Anthony Davis' toughness in playing through a thigh injury. "It's really tough because you get hit in the thigh, and any time you try to plant and turn and jump, there's pain there," Gentry said. "I love the fact that he's trying to push through it and play. " Asked if it might be better to give Davis a game off, Gentry said: "I'm not a smart guy, but I think we're a little bit better with him out on the court." ... Gentry said he felt badly for Portland G Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum who were left off the Western Conference All-Star team. "If you extended the rosters to 15, it's going to be the 16th and 17th guys that feel like they got (overlooked)," Gentry said. ... Asked if he was surprised that only F Kawhi Leonard made the All-Star team, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said: "I don't think about it much."