Suns at Pelicans
Anthony Davis turned in his worst game of the season on Wednesday and somehow the New Orleans Pelicans got the closest to a victory yet in the young season. Davis will try to put together a better effort and lead his team to its first win on Friday when the Pelicans host the Phoenix Suns, who finally found their way into the win column in overtime against Portland on Wednesday.
Davis averaged 37 points in the first four games but slipped to 10 points on 3-of-13 while battling foul trouble in the 89-83 overtime loss at Memphis on Wednesday. “Everybody else stepped up, kept us in the game, made the plays," Davis told reporters. "I didn’t come through on my end, and that’s on me." The star stepped up for the Suns to pull his team out of the funk as Eric Bledsoe buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to cap a 20-point effort and give Phoenix a 118-115 victory. "I had to be extra aggressive," Bledsoe told reporters. "This team is going to go as far as I take them and I’ve got to do that. I have to lead by example and I did that tonight."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE SUNS (1-4): Phoenix will go as far as Bledsoe takes it but he can't do it alone, and he is getting plenty of help from T.J. Warren. The third-year small forward was thrust into a starting role for the first time this season and responded with an average 22.4 points on 50.6 percent shooting and 6.2 rebounds in the first five games. Warren, who scored 25 or more points twice in his first two seasons, has already gone for 25 or more three times this campaign.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (0-5): Picking up some of the slack for Davis on Wednesday was backup shooting guards Langston Galloway and rookie Buddy Hield, who each buried four 3-pointers and scored 18 points apiece. "We had great looks," Galloway told reporters. "Me and Buddy finally got it going. All the work we’ve been putting in, we’ve got to continue putting that in, and shots are going to fall." Galloway totaled 11 points on 5-of-22 shooting in the first four games while Hield began his NBA career by 10-of-34 from the floor, including 1-of-14 from 3-point range.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pelicans C Omer Asik grabbed 11 rebounds in a season-high 35 minutes off the bench on Wednesday.
2. Suns C Alex Len is averaging 15.5 points in the last two games after putting up 5.7 in the first three contests.
3. New Orleans took the first two meetings last season but Phoenix responded by taking the next two by a total of 37 points.