Davis paints 59-point, 20-board masterpiece
Love leads Cavs to conquest of OKC • Spurs overcome Suns • Raptors snap skid, Celtics keep pace
The New Orleans Pelicans AD was definitely better than the Detroit Pistons’ AD on Sunday night.
Any questions about Anthony Davis’ star power were answered at the Palace.
The 22-year-old forward dominated Detroit and Andre Drummond, scoring 26 points and pulling down 13 rebounds – in the first half.
Davis finished with a career-high and Palace-record 59 points and tacked on 20 rebounds, single-handedly sending the Pistons to their fifth straight loss, 111-106.
On points 56 and 57 Drummond (21 points, 14 rebounds) was on Davis like glue. When the fade-away jump shot went in, Drummond ran down court shaking his head in disbelief.
“I was doing as much as I could to help the team win,’’ said a humble Davis. “They just kept getting me the ball. I felt very comfortable. I’ve been working on everything that I’ve been doing that I displayed tonight. I might not use it all the time.
“Coaches tried to run plays where I could get the ball and Andre [Drummond] was guarding me. I was trying to use my quickness to my advantage and get things off the dribble.
“I wasn’t keeping track, but the bench was telling me during timeouts, one more rebound and I could get 60. I just tried not to worry about it. I was just trying to worry about winning the game.’’
Reggie Jackson led four Pistons in double figures with 34 points.
Davis, 24-for-34 from the field, recorded just the third 50-20 game in the past 30 years; Chris Webber and Shaquille O’Neal are the other two.
“It’ll probably hit me tomorrow,’’ said Davis. “My teammates and coaches try to lean on me a lot. I try to go out there and be as effective as I can.’’
“I wasn’t able to enjoy it,’’ said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. “I was there when Klay Thompson scored 37 points in a quarter. You don’t enjoy it until afterwards. Afterwards you appreciate what he’s done and the magnitude in which he played.” (Detroit Free Press/TNS)
Cavaliers 115, Thunder 92
Kevin Love scored 29 points to lead Cleveland to an emphatic road victory over Oklahoma City.
LeBron James started slowly, recording only two points in the first 10 minutes but eventually collected 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Cavaliers improved to 40-14.
Celtics 121, Nuggets 101
Isaiah Thomas had 22 points and 12 assists as surging Boston topped Denver.
Jared Sullinger had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who had a 48-36 edge in rebounding despite being undersized against Denver.
Avery Bradley added 20 points for the Boston, which has won 11 of 14 to stay on the heels of first-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
Spurs 118, Suns 111
Tony Parker scored 22 points and Patty Mills added 21 as San Antonio struggled with Phoenix Suns before pulling away.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Rasual Butler had 12 points for the Spurs, who won for the eighth time in the last nine games to improve to 47-9, the best 56-game start in franchise history. That record is one game better than the 2010-11 Spurs team (46-10).
Raptors 89, Grizzlies 85
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Toronto Raptors defeated Memphis.
Kyle Lowry added 18 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who had lost their previous two games.
Zach Randolph scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Grizzlies, who had won their two previous games.
Bulls 126, Lakers 115
E’Twaun Moore matched a career high with 24 points as Chicago outlasted Los Angeles.
Bulls guard Derrick Rose scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished six assists, while Pau Gasol added 21 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls.
Kobe Bryant finished with 22 points in 27 minutes for the Lakers in his last game in Chicago.