Pelicans soar past Rockets in season-opener
ANTHONY Davis scored 32 points and Elfrid Payton finished with a triple double as the New Orleans Pelicans got their NBA season off to a roaring start by clobbering the Houston Rockets 131-112 on Wednesday.
Davis also had 16 rebounds and 8 assists and Payton finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Pelicans, who led wire-to-wire.
“I am just taking what the defense gives me,” said Davis. “It is only game one. It is a good win but we still got a lot of work to do.
“To come out with a win against a team like that after the season they had and coming off the season we had, we wanted to come out and set a tempo.”
The Pelicans’ dominating win in front of a crowd of 18,000 at Toyota Center arena in Texas was one of 11 games in the first full night of the 2018-19 National Basketball Association season.
NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden flirted with a triple double, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Rockets failed to match New Orleans’ season-opening intensity, especially on defense.
Nikola Mirotic delivered 30 points and 10 rebounds in the blowout as the Pelicans led by as many as 29 points.
Eric Gordon scored a team-high 21 points. Chris Paul and PJ Tucker had 19 points each for the Rockets, who are trying to replace outgoing defensive specialists Trevor Ariza and Mbah a Moute with aging veteran Carmelo Anthony and journeyman James Ennis.
Reserve Anthony, who bristled in the past about the idea of having to come off the bench, finished with 9 points on 3 of 10 shooting in 27 minutes of playing time.
Elsewhere, it was: Spurs 112, Timberwolves 108; Raptors 116, Cavaliers 104; Bucks 113, Hornets 112; Knicks 126, Hawks 107; Pistons 103, Nets 100; Pacers 111, Grizzlies 83; Magic 104, Heat 101; Jazz 123, Kings 117; Suns 121, Mavericks 100; and Nuggets 107, Clippers 98.