Pelicans 105, Bobcats 84
NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis scored 25 points and had a career-high six blocked shots to power the New Orleans Pelicans to their first victory of the season, a 105-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night at the New Orleans Arena.
Davis, who has scored at least 20 points in his first three games of the season, was just shy of a third consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound game, finishing with eight boards.
Davis showcased his extended shooting range by hitting a 20-footer near the top of the key to push the Pelicans' lead to 68-49 midway through the third quarter, but Charlotte responded with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 70-56.
But that was as close as Charlotte would get the rest of the game.
With the score 81-67, reserve guard Brian Roberts hit a 20-footer and then followed with a four-point play, making a 3-pointer from the left baseline despite a touch foul by Kemba Walker and then hitting the free throw. That extended the Pelicans' lead to 87-69 with 8:12 left.
The Pelicans (1-2) got 15 points from Tyreke Evans and 14 points from Jrue Holiday.
The Bobcats (1-2) were paced by Ramon Sessions, who came off the bench to score 22 points, and Kemba Walker's 14.
Davis' first-half stat line was a thing of beauty: 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, 6 of 6 from the foul line, six rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
One sequence said it all. Davis raced near half-court to chase a ball going out of bounds and threw it back in before landing on his seat near the scorer's table. He hustled back up in time to be on the receiving end of a lob pass from Holiday for a dunk that put the Pelicans up 56-39 with 1:04 left in the half.
The Bobcats, meanwhile, struggled offensively. Walker scored Charlotte's first eight points, but the Bobcats didn't crack double figures until 3:48 left in the first half on two foul shots by Ramon Sessions. The Pelicans also outrebounded Charlotte 18-5 in jumping out to a 33-15 lead.
Jason Smith needed just one half to surpass his career record for blocked shots, getting six of the Pelicans' nine blocks in the first half alone.
After shooting poorly in a 20-point loss to Orlando on Friday night, the Pelicans made a conscious effort of driving the ball to the basket, and they converted 17 of 20 free throws in the first half.
NOTES: Bobcats center Al Jefferson, who reaggravated his right ankle injury in the season opener, missed his second consecutive game with a bone bruise. "It's the same thing -- he's day to day," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "We'll wait to see how he's feeling when we get back to Charlotte, and we'll get a better idea and do treatment." ... The Pelicans have struggled defensively. They allowed Orlando 55.7 percent shooting from the field on Friday night in falling to 0-2. "Sometimes you just have games like that," Holiday said. "We got off the shots we wanted and they didn't fall. They were knocking down everything." ... Evans is still working himself back into shape after missing most of the preseason with an ankle injury. He was 2 of 15 from the floor in two games.
