Pelicans 104, Lakers 87
Pelicans 104, Lakers 87: Anthony Davis had 23 points and six rebounds as visiting New Orleans pulled away in the second half to beat Los Angeles.
Jrue Holiday added 22 points for New Orleans, which avoided its second three-game losing streak in the last two weeks. Tyreke Evans had 11 points and seven assists and Ryan Anderson finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans.
Kobe Bryant scored 14 points to lead the Lakers, who have lost three straight and seven of nine. Nick Young scored 13 off the bench and Carlos Boozer and Ed Davis finished with 12 points apiece for Los Angeles.
Lakers coach Byron Scott adjusted his starting lineup with Ronnie Price and Davis replacing Jeremy Lin and Boozer but Los Angeles shot 25 percent from the floor in the opening quarter and fell behind 22-16. The Lakers scored the first four points of the second quarter but couldn’t wrestle the lead from the Pelicans, who came back with a 9-2 run to go up by nine.
New Orleans took a 10-point lead into intermission and matched the Lakers basket for basket during the early part of the third before closing with a 16-2 run to go up 79-59 entering the fourth. Los Angeles scored 12 unanswered points early in the fourth quarter to saw a 24-point deficit in half but that was as close as the Lakers would get.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bryant and Davis entered the game as the top two scorers in the NBA. … Price finished with three points and three assists in 26 minutes and Lin with three points and four assists in 20 minutes. ... Bryant shot 6-for-18 and to drop his shooting percentage to 37.5 over the last four games.