Pelicans lose Davis but beat Thunder
NEW ORLEANS 131 OKLAHOMA CITY 122
Anthony Davis grimaced and didn’t move his left arm as he walked off the court at halftime.
Whether those were Davis’ final moments in a Pelicans uniform — or whether he even plays in this weekend’s All-Star game — remains to be seen.
Julius Randle capped a 33point, 11-rebound performance with three clutch baskets in the final three minutes, Jrue Holiday scored 32 points and effectively defended Paul George, and New Orleans beat Oklahoma City 131-122 on Thursday night despite losing Davis to a shoulder injury.
Davis, who has asked to be traded, left the Smoothie King Center with his agent, Rich Paul, during the second half to get an MRI exam, the results of which were expected by Friday.
But it’s only a matter of time before the Pelicans have to learn to play without Davis for good anyway, and they managed rather well following the six-time All-Star’s departure against record-setting guard Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.
“To tell you the truth, this whole thing has been a dumpster fire,” coach Alvin Gentry said, alluding to the effect Davis’ trade demand has had on the rest of the team. “It’s hard for guys to go through what they’ve been through, and to be able to come out and beat a team of that quality. I’m happy for all the guys.”
Westbrook increased his record triple-double streak to 11 games with 44 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. But he missed a late threepoint attempt when the Thunder trailed by five just inside the final minute of the game. New Orleans rebounded and held on from there.
“They played good, man,” Westbrook said of the Pelicans, who snapped the Thunder’s four-game winning streak. “Honestly, the stuff that’s going on around here, I don’t really know much about, but they won tonight and that’s all the matters.”
at Orlando 127, Charlotte 89:
The Magic ended a 13-game losing streak to Charlotte, routing the Hornets behind 21 points from reserve Terrence Ross. The Magic have won five straight for the first time in more than three years. Nikola Vucevic had his fifth straight double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Aaron Gordon added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jonathan Isaac scored 16 points.
New York 106, at Atlanta 91:
Dennis Smith Jr. scored 19 points and the Knicks snapped a franchiseworst, 18-game losing streak. The Knicks’ previous victory was Jan. 4 against the Lakers. New York, with the Eastern Conference’s worst record and second-worst overall, had dropped 26 of 27. Kadeem Allen and John Jenkins each added 14 points. Damyean Dotson finished with 13 points and DeAndre Jordan had 13 rebounds for New York, which never trailed and was tied only twice, in the second quarter.