Pelicans shut down Pistons behind Davis, Holiday
NEW ORLEANS -- Forward Anthony Davis 24 of his game-high 33 points in the first half and point guard Jrue Holiday broke out of a shooting slump with 22 points to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 109-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center.
In helping the Pelicans (24-37) break a three-game losing streak, Davis became the seventh-youngest player in NBA history to score 7,000 career points.
The Pistons (29-32), playing on the second night of a back-to-back, looked like a tired team. They shot 3 of 17 from the free throw line and 3 of 23 from 3-point range.
Forward Jon Leuer led the Pistons with 22 points, while center Andre Drummond was ejected late in the third quarter on a Flagrant 2 foul and finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds. The Pelicans were leading 73-67 at the time before going on a 28-17 run to ice the game.
Drummond's poor free throw shooting -- he finished 1 for 10 -- may have contributed to his Flagrant 2 foul. Drummond had just pulled down his 17th rebound of the game, but Pelicans point guard Tim Frazier came from the blindside and swiped the ball away.
Drummond responded with a foul and then swiped at Frazier's head, meriting the Flagrant and ejection with 1:24 left in the quarter. The Pelicans ended the quarter with a 78-70 lead.
The Pelicans led 53-50 at halftime on the strength of Davis' 24 points, which included 10 perfect trips to the foul line. Overall, New Orleans made all 17 free throws, while the Pistons went 0 for 8 from the stripe, including six misses by Drummond.
The Pelicans led 31-18 at the end of the first quarter, with Davis scoring 16 and backup center Alexis Ajinca adding eight. Detroit got back into the game by outscoring New Orleans 32-22 in the second quarter, with Leuer accounting for 10 of those points. The Pistons did not commit a turnover in the first half.
NOTES: Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry spoke with PG Jrue Holiday and suggested he get back to looking for his shot and stop trying to defer to PF Anthony Davis and C DeMarcus Cousins. Over the previous three games, Holiday was 11 for 38 from the field, including 2 of 14 from long range, with 16 turnovers and 10 points per game. "I told him he was trying too hard to be a point guard and we just needed for him to be Jrue Holiday," Gentry said. "The Jrue Holiday point guard is good enough -- it's more than good enough for us." Holiday went 10 of 18 against the Pistons on Wednesday night. ... Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy believes the Davis-Cousins tandem will pay off in the long term for the Pelicans. "It's two really talented guys," Van Gundy said. "Talent usually is a good thing and is a good way to start. It'll take them some time, but two talented guys like that should be able to figure it out."