Davis erupts for game-high 48
The shot that let Anthony Davis know he was locked in didn’t even count.
Just after the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter, with his team trailing the Knicks by 14, the Pelicans star heaved a full-court shot that swished through the net.
“You never really make those,” Davis said. “It went in and it just kind of felt like tonight was definitely my night.”
Davis had plenty of more shots that did count — 30, to be exact, and he made 17 of them, finishing with 48 points to fuel the Pelicans’ comeback 123-118 overtime win Sunday at the Garden.
It was the most points any player had scored against the Knicks since James Harden dropped 53 on Dec. 31, 2016. It also continued Davis’ recent dominance at the Garden, marking the third straight trip in which he scored at least 36 points.
“It is the Garden, so of course you want to have big games,” said Davis, who added 17 rebounds, four steals and three blocks while guarding Kristaps Porzingis. “But I just try to help my team win. [DeMarcus Cousins] was struggling early, we were struggling early as a team, missing shots, turning the ball over. We weren’t being ourselves, so I just tried to get us going on both ends of the floor.”
In the third quarter alone, Davis shot 7-of-12 from the field and scored 19 points.
The former Kentucky star’s contested layup with 3.5 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime, where he only scored two points but made sure they were clutch. His lone basket came on a step-back baseline fadeaway against Porzingis to put the Pelicans up 120-117, a lead they never relinquished.
“Every shot feels good when it comes out of my hands,” he said. “That’s one of the ones that just went in.”