Davis leads balanced Pelicans past Knicks
NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis had 23 points and 17 rebounds and guard Tyreke Evans came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a 104-92 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center.
In winning their fourth consecutive game and for the fifth time in six games, the Pelicans improved to 14-21. It was a team effort as the Pelicans placed six players in double figures, led by Davis, who had his 21st game this season of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds
Jrue Holiday had a double-double for the Pelicans -- 12 points and 11 assists -- and E'Twaun Moore and Buddy Held had 12 points each.
The Knicks (16-16) lost their third consecutive game despite a game-high 26 points Carmelo Anthony, 20 points by Derrick Rose and 21 points and 12 rebounds by Kristaps Porzingis. They close a three-game road trip on Saturday in Houston.
The Pelicans held the Knicks to 26 percent shooting from the field in the third quarter and outscored New York 24-18 to take a 79-69 lead into the fourth quarter. Porzingis missed twice on short jumpers over a much smaller defender and the Knicks went 6:10 without scoring a point on nine consecutive possessions.
The first half was a game of runs. The Pelicans jumped out to a 31-21 first-quarter lead behind Davis' 11 points and seven rebounds. Davis repeatedly beat Joakim Noah to the basket with ease.
But when Davis took a breather, Porzingis heated up, scoring three baskets in the first two minutes of the second quarter. The Knicks used a 17-2 run to take a 51-48 lead, with the go-ahead basket coming on a 3-pointer from the right wing by Brandon Jennings.
The Pelicans, however, scored the final seven points of the half to take a 55-51 lead. Holiday was the highlight player, driving past Porzingis for a dunk and then assisting on a 3-pointer by Moore.
Davis had 15 points and nine rebounds in the half, and Tyreke added 10 points for New Orleans in less than eight minutes.
Anthony led the Knicks with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Porzingis had 12 points and eight rebounds.
NOTES: Despite facing the Knicks' front line of 7-foot-3 C Kristaps Porzingis, 6-11 F Joakim Noah and 6-8 F Carmelo Anthony, the Pelicans went with its small starting lineup for the third consecutive game. "I think every game is a test for it," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. ... The Pelicans have five healthy guards, which means former starting PG Tim Frazier is not seeing much time while Tyreke Evans increases his minutes. "It's a tough situation, but I found out a long time ago that you (can only) play four guys in two spots. You definitely can't play five. Somebody has to not play. ... I found in those kinds of situations it always works out." ... Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said he was only speaking truthfully when he said Anthony was wrongly called for a Flagrant-2 foul when he threw an elbow going after a rebound against Atlanta F Thabo Sefolosha on Wednesday. "There's going to be times when you need to support your guys," Hornacek said. "I really believed what I said how the foul occurred. It was just a natural reaction."