‘He’s something else’: Davis lifts Pelicans
Anthony Davis scored a season-high 53 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked five shots as New Orleans extended its winning streak to six games with a victory over visiting Phoenix.
“Thank, you Anthony, for carrying us,” New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday said. “Look at his numbers, man. He’s something else.”
Holiday scored 20 points for the Pelicans, whose season-best unbeaten run has pulled them into a tie with Portland for fifth place in the Western Conference despite being without All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins, who was lost for the season Jan. 26 with a torn Achilles.
Emeka Okafor, brought back to the NBA for the first time since 2013 a week after Cousins’ injury, scored 14 points. He was re-signed for the rest of the season earlier in the day.
Devin Booker had 40 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who lost their 10th straight and still haven’t won this month.
“We are playing a lot better, and I like that we are still fighting. Executing down the stretch is something that will come with us,” Booker said. Rockets 96, Jazz 85: James Harden had 26 points and Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to lift visiting Houston to its 13th straight win. Playing the second game of a back-to-back set at high altitude, Chris Paul added 15 points for the Rockets, who trailed by as many as 15 in the first half. Timberwolves 118, Kings 100: Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 17 rebounds, and visiting Minnesota pulled away in the second half to sweep the three-game season series. Skal Labissiere scored 20 points for Sacramento. Lakers 123, Hawks 104: Brandon Ingram had 21 points and 10 rebounds, leading nine scorers in double figures as visiting Los Angeles won its third straight game. Taurean Prince scored 24 for Atlanta. Celtics 109, Grizzlies 98: Kyrie Irving scored 25 points in three quarters of work for host Boston, which has won all three games coming out of the All-Star break. Memphis has lost 10 straight games. Nets 104, Bulls 87: Alan Crabbe scored 21 points and host Brooklyn snapped an eight-game losing streak. Kris Dunn had 23 points and Lauri Markkanen 19 for Chicago, which has lost four straight and 13 of 16. Raptors 123, Pistons 94: DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry each scored 20 points, Serge Ibaka had 19 and host Toronto won for the seventh time in its past eight games. The Raptors improved to 25-5 at home, the best record in the NBA. Andre Drummond had 18 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit. Thunder 112, Magic 105: Paul George scored 26 points to help host Oklahoma City hand Orlando its sixth straight loss. George scored five points on 1-for-14 shooting in a blowout loss Saturday to the Warriors. Mavericks 109, Pacers 103: Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and host Dallas ended a four-game skid. Indiana’s Myles Turner had 24 points and 11 rebounds. Turner played high school ball nearby at Euless Trinity and his only college season at Texas.