Pelicans 109, Hornets 107
NEW ORLEANS -- Forward Ryan Anderson scored 21 of his season-high 32 points in the first half and Anthony Davis iced the game with an alley-oop dunk off a feed from guard Jrue Holiday with two seconds left to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a 109-107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center.
Davis' game-winning bucket came after Holiday penetrated against Kemba Walker. Holiday saw Davis roll to the basket and threw a soft lob that Davis finished with a two-hand finish to break a 107-107 tie.
The Pelicans (13-26) snapped a three-game home losing streak, and the Hornet (18-21) lost their ninth consecutive road game. The Hornets were led by Walker and forward Nicolas Batum with 25 points each.
The Hornets had one final chance to win or tie, but Batum's desperation 3-pointer from the left corner bounced off the rim.
The game was tied at 99 with 3:37 left, but Davis rattled home a go-ahead dunk and later fed forward Alonzo Gee for a layup that put New Orleans up 103-102.
After Holiday hit a 14-foot jumper, the Hornets cut it to 105-104 on Walker's driving layup with 45.9 second left.
Davis made two free throws to put New Orleans up 107-104, but Walker tied it, 107-107, at 19.2 seconds with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
The Pelicans built a 62-49 lead early in the third quarter only to see the Hornets go on a 32-17 run to take an 81-77 lead. But the Pelicans closed the third quarter with seven consecutive points, including a step-back 3-pointer from the left wing by Anderson, to take an 84-81 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Pelicans seemed to take control by outscoring Charlotte 11-5 to start the fourth for a 95-86 lead, but the Hornets responded with a 10-0 run, with eight coming from forward Frank Kaminsky, to retake the lead, 96-95 with 5:59 left.
Anderson, the NBA's leading non-starter scorer, came out blazing, scoring 21 first-half points on 8 of 12 shooting, including 5 of 7 from long range. His final 3-pointer of the half put New Orleans up 57-47, and the Pelicans took a 57-59 halftime lead.
Walker kept the Hornets in the game early, scoring 11 first-quarter points and making 3 of 4 from 3-pointer range. The teams combined to shoot 17 of 35 from long range in the first half.
The Pelicans forced the Hornets, who commit a league-best 12.2 turnovers per game, into eight turnovers in the first half. They also moved the ball well in the first half, with 16 assists on 22 made field goals, led Holiday's six assists in 11 minutes.
The Pelicans held the Hornets to 15 points on 33 percent shooting in the second quarter.
NOTES: With the Pelicans' chances of making the playoffs growing more remote with each loss, GM Del Demps broke his silence Friday and said the team was investigating possible trades. "We will do what's needed to get this team on track," Demps said. "Obviously we have dug ourselves a deep hole and it's going to be tough for us to fight back into it this year but we're always looking for the long term as well as the short term. We haven't given up on the season. ... We've got to do something that makes sense. We can't just make a trade to make a trade. We just can't get rid of a guy and bring back lesser talent or is going to make the team deficient." ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford is pleased with C Cody Zeller's "energy level. He's continuing to learn how to use his speed and quickness."