Davis scorches Suns with 53-point effort
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 125-116 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Jrue 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.
Devin Booker had 40 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who lost their 10th straight and still haven’t won in February. Josh Jackson added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, which led by as many as 17 in the second quarter but fell behind for good with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. LAKERS 123, HAWKS 104 >> Brandon Ingram had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead nine Los Angeles scorers in double figures in its win over Atlanta.
Julius Randle added 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers overcame 23 turnovers to keep their lead in double figures throughout the second half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 14 rebounds and 10 points.
Taurean Prince scored 24 for the Hawks in their fourth straight loss. 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 Houston over Utah for its 13th straight win.
Mbah a Moute went 7 for 7 and Chris Paul added 15 points for the streaking Rockets, who trailed by as many as 15 in the first half before rallying to win. RAPTORS 123, PISTONS 94 >> DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry each scored 20 points, and Serge Ibaka added 19 for Toronto, which beat Detroit to improve to 25-5 at home.
Andre Drummond had 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Pistons.
CELTICS 109, GRIZZLIES 98 >> Kyrie Irving scored 25 points in three quarters for Boston, which handed Memphis its 10th consecutive loss on the road. NETS 104, BULLS 87 >> Alan Crabbe scored 21 points for Brooklyn, which snapped an eight-game losing streak with its win over Chicago, which has lost 13 of 16. THUNDER 112, MAGIC 105 >> Paul George scored 26 points and Steven Adams added 16 to help Oklahoma City defeat Orlando, which has lost six in a row. MAVERICKS 109, PACERS 103 >> Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and J.J. Barea added 19 to help the Mavericks end a four-game losing streak with a victory over Indiana. TIMBERWOLVES 118, KINGS 100 >> Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 17 rebounds to help Minnesota pull away and beat Sacramento and improve to 2-0 since losing Jimmy Butler to a torn right meniscus.
Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points and Jeff Teague added 20 to help the Timberwolves sweep the threegame season series between the two teams. MAVERICKS GET INTERIM CEO >> The Dallas Mavericks hired former AT&T executive Cynthia Marshall as interim CEO a week after allegations of sexual misconduct against former team president Terdema Ussery in a report that also revealed a wider culture of a hostile workplace for women in the franchise.
Sports Illustrated reported Ussery made sexually suggestive remarks to several women. He spent 18 years with the team before leaving in 2015.
The report also said team website reporter Earl Sneed was twice involved in domestic assault cases while working for the Mavericks, including a guilty plea in a case that was dismissed when he met the conditions of the agreement. Sneed and former human resources director Buddy Pittman were fired in the wake of the report. PELICANS SIGN OKAFOR >> The New Orleans Pelicans have signed center Emeka Okafor through the rest of the season.
Okafor had been out of the NBA since 2013 because of a herniated disk in his neck before making a comeback this year. The Pelicans brought the 35-year-old back to the NBA on Feb. 3, signing him out of the G League on a 10-day contract.