Lots of Davis, no Cousins in Pelicans' road win
DENVER -- Anthony Davis scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in only 28 minutes to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 115-90 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
Jrue Holiday and Jordan Crawford each scored 13 points, and the bench contributed 49 as the Pelicans (31-42) earned their sixth win in eight games. New Orleans is now four games behind the Nuggets (35-38) for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans won without DeMarcus Cousins, who sat out due to an ankle injury. Cousins got hurt Friday during New Orleans' 117-107 loss to the Houston Rockets and was still sore at the Sunday morning shootaround.
"He doesn't feel comfortable enough to go out there," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said before the game. "There's no way we're going to stick him out there and risk further injury for one game. We'll sit him out and see what happens tomorrow."
Mason Plumlee had 16 points and Gary Harris and Jamal Murray each added 13 for the Nuggets, who shot 37.9 percent from the field. Nikola Jokic, who came into the game shooting 50 percent or better in his previous 11 games, had eight points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. He also pulled down 13 rebounds.
The Nuggets' lead for the last playoff spot is now a half game over the Portland Trail Blazers, who could catch Denver in the standings with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers later Sunday night. The teams will play Tuesday in Portland as the Nuggets begin a five-game road trip.
Denver led 26-18 with 2:59 left in the first quarter as Jokic had the team's first six points and Danilo Gallinari added a quick seven, which included a four-point play at the expense of Davis.
But the Pelicans closed the quarter on an 11-0 run as Davis gave New Orleans a 29-26 lead with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Pelicans' lead ballooned to 55-40 at the half with 18 points from Davis and 17 from the bench.
E'Twaun Moore hit a 14-foot fadeaway jumper over Darrell Arthur's extended reach as time expired in the third quarter to extend the lead to 87-59. The Pelicans coasted from there.
NOTES: Pelicans F Anthony Davis posted his 45th double-double of the season despite resting in the fourth quarter. He has 81 points and 30 rebounds in two games against the Nuggets this season. ... The Nuggets and Pelicans will meet two more times in the next 12 days -- on April 4 in New Orleans and April 7 in Denver. ... Dante Cunningham started in place of DeMarcus Cousins (ankle) and finished with six points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes.