Davis erupts for 47 as Pelicans advance

Holiday also excels in ouster of Portland

NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis sat on the court, a scowl on his face and his biceps flexed on each side of his head.

The Pelicans forward had just converted a layup as he fell to the court after a hard foul. His strength-projecting celebration afterward was that of an All-Star determined lay the foundation of his playoff legacy with dominant performance in the clutch.

“In a close-out game and then the magnitude of the situation, this is probably the best game he’s played since I’ve been here,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “He was not going to let us lose.”

Davis scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half — including 12 in the final five minutes — as New Orleans completed a first-round playoff sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers with a 131-123 victory Saturday.

“It was fun,” Davis said. “It was an amazing feeling for me to go out and sweep these guys and play the way that I played.”

When Davis wasn’t devastating the Blazers, Jrue Holiday was giving them fits with explosive drives or pull-up jumpers. He capped his 41-point night with an 18-footer that gave the Pelicans a six-point lead with 40 seconds left.

Davis had 11 rebounds and three blocks, and Rajon Rondo had 16 assists for New Orleans.

■ Timberwolves 121, Rockets 105 — At Minneapolis, Jimmy Butler hit four 3-pointers en route to scoring 28 points for Minnesota, which notched its first postseason victory in 14 years.

Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a bad start in the series to total 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot 50 percent and sliced their series deficit to 2-1.

James Harden scored 29 points, and Chris Paul fouled out with 17 points for Houston, which made just 15 of 41 3-point attempts.

■ 76ers 106, Heat 102 — At Miami, Ben Simmons had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the first playoff triple-double by an NBA rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980, guiding Philadelphia to a 3-1 series lead.

J.J. Reddick had 24 points and Joel Embiid 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who overcame a 12-point second-half deficit.

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 25 points off the bench for Miami, which has erased a 3-1 deficit once — in 1997 against New York.

■ Jazz 115, Thunder 102 — At Salt Lake City, Ricky Rubio had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the first postseason triple-double by a Utah player since John Stockton in 2001 as the Jazz took a 2-1 series lead.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points and Joe Ingles 21 for Utah, which went on a 13-0 fourth-quarter run to go up by 20.

Paul George had 23 points and Russell Westbrook 14 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and eight turnovers for Oklahoma City.

Scott Threlkeld The Associated Press Pelicans forward Anthony Davis soars to the basket over Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard in the second half of New Orleans’ 131-123 win Saturday at the Smoothie King Center.