Pelicans’ Cousins out for season

NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis scored 27 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists before seriously injuring his left Achilles tendon, and the Pelicans survived a furious Houston rally for a 115-113 victory over the Rockets on Friday night.

An MRI exam confirmed Cousins tore his Achilles and is out for the rest of the season. His range for recovery is six to 10 months, according to reports.

Yahoo first reported the initial diagnosis of an Achilles tear for the AllStar starter.

The injury, which occurred as Cousins pursued a missed free throw with 12 seconds left in the game, all but squelched the jubilation from a team and its fans, who otherwise would have been celebrating a fourth straight victory.

“We were just figuring everything out. That’s the tough part,” Davis said, adding that he hadn’t spoken to Cousins and wasn’t yet certain if the injury was season-ending. “We’ve got to keep going and just keep finding a way to win.

“We’ve got enough guys in here who are professionals who are always ready when their number’s called, so we’ve got to make sure that we stay locked in.”

Jrue Holiday scored 21 points and unconventionally sealed the victory by purposefully missing a free throw with 1.8 seconds left, causing time to run out as players fought for the rebound.

“Right now, just praying everything’s OK [with Cousins],” Holiday said, adding that it made the win victory “bitter-sweet.”

“Just unfortunate, really. I think we’ve been doing really well, got in a great groove,” Holiday added, noting that Cousins’ tripledouble against Houston was his second in three games. “The way we’ve been playing — and him in particular — has been awesome.”