Pistons' Caldwell-Pope erupts for career-high 38 in victory
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 38 points and the Detroit Pistons snapped an eight-losing streak to the New Orleans Pelicans with a 118-98 victory Wednesday night at The Palace.
The fourth-year guard's previous high was 31 points against Boston on Dec. 16, 2015. He made 12 of 18 field-goal attempts, including eight 3-pointers.
Detroit (22-27), which lost its last three games, recorded its first victory over New Orleans since Feb. 4, 2012. Tobias Harris had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench for Detroit, while Andre Drummond contributed 17 points and six rebounds.
The Pistons' Ish Smith added 15 points and seven assists.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans (19-31), who have lost three in a row, with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Davis scored a career-high and franchise-record 59 points in his most recent visit to The Palace last February.
Jrue Holiday supplied 22 points and 11 assists, and Terrence Jones chipped in 11 points for New Orleans.
The Pelicans scored 12 consecutive points midway through the third to gain a 74-66 lead. Davis scored the first two baskets and Solomon Hill followed with back-to-back threes.
Behind Caldwell-Pope, the Pistons finished the quarter on a 17-7 run to regain the lead at 83-81. Caldwell-Pope scored 10 of those points, including a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Backup point guard Smith scored five of the first seven points in the fourth, lifting Detroit's lead to 90-81.
When Caldwell-Pope fired in a three with 6:09 left, the Pistons' advantage increased to 101-87. The Pelicans never mounted a serious threat from that point.
Davis racked up 23 points by halftime but the Pistons took a 58-54 to the locker room. Caldwell-Pope scored 17 first-quarter points and Harris tossed in 10 during the second quarter.
NOTES: The Pistons assigned F Henry Ellenson and SGs Darrun Hilliard and Michael Gbinije to their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich. ... Pelicans C Anthony Davis reached the 40-point mark five times this season. He was averaging 27.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks entering Wednesday. ... Pistons C Andre Drummond entered the game tied with Los Angeles Clippers C DeAndre Jordan for the league rebounding lead (13.8 per game). Drummond topped the NBA in that category last season at 14.8 per game. ... New Orleans committed the sixth-fewest turnovers but coach Alvin Gentry believes his club is too mistake-prone. "We have to stop punishing ourselves," he said. "When we don't make those mistakes, we're a very good basketball team." ... Detroit plays nine home games in the month of February. ... The Pelicans rank second in blocks at six per game. Golden State (6.4) is the league leader.