[March 10, 2014]NEW ORLEANS — He turns 21 on
Tuesday, but second-year New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis is
morphing quickly into the man-child of the NBA.
Davis scored 32 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked six shots — including a critical layup attempt by point guard Ty Lawson in
overtime — to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-107 victory
over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at the Smoothie King Center.
In leading the Pelicans to their third consecutive victory, Davis
posted monster numbers befitting NBA royalty. No player this season
scored at least 30 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked five
shots in a single game until Davis did it Sunday. Davis also was the
first player in franchise history to post those numbers.
Of all of those gaudy stats, Davis might have been happiest about
his pin-block against Lawson, who beat guard Austin Rivers down the
right side of the lane and looked headed to a layup that could have
tied the game at 106 with 75 seconds left in overtime.
"It's definitely up there," Davis said of the block. "That was a big
play. He'd been getting shots in the paint all night, but at the end
of the game, you just make basketball plays. I don't think I was
supposed to go, but I just tried to make a basketball play. Coach
always tell you, 'If you're going to do something like that, you'd
better go get it.'"
Davis didn't just get it — he gobbled it up.
"Ty got to the hole and (Davis) protects the rim," Denver coach
Brian Shaw said. "He's the best shot-blocker in the league this
year. Ty made a heck of a play. (Davis) made an even better play
defensively."
Pelicans coach Monty Williams said he was chatting with Davis before
the game about not just blocking shots but vacuuming them up the way
Patrick Ewing used to for the New York Knicks.
"That's just special," Williams said. "That kind of defensive play
is the stuff that gives you so much confidence — when you know you
have a guy to cover up on the back side. It's like playing with
David Robinson. You can get up into a guy and be aggressive because
you know Dave's going to erase the mistake that you make."
The Pelicans (26-37) trailed 94-90 with 1:20 left in regulation but
sent the game into overtime on two free throws by guard Brian
Roberts and then a nervy, 15-foot jumper by guard Anthony Morrow
with nine-10ths of a second left.
The final play in regulation was supposed to go to Davis, but he was
overplayed by forward Kenneth Faried, and Morrow ended up with the
ball near the top of the key, battling toe to toe with Lawson.
Morrow dribbled it and shot the ball from the foul line over
Lawson's outstretched arms.
"I drove hard to get to that spot I wanted to be in," Morrow said.
"I knew Ty was a little bit shorter, so I wanted to shoot over him,
and I was able to get my shot off."
In overtime, the Pelicans outscored the Nuggets 17-13. New Orleans
forward Tyreke Evans, who scored seven of his 20 points in overtime,
tied the game for the final time with a driving layup. After reserve
guard Aaron Brooks missed on the other end, Davis made two free
throws with 1:22 left to give New Orleans the lead for good,
106-104.
Davis grabbed six of his 17 rebounds in the five-minute overtime.
"I just tried to be aggressive," Davis said. "Tyreke kept telling
me, 'Straight gas. We ain't stopping at no stores.' It was a big
game, but the most important thing was we got the win."
After Davis' monster block, the Pelicans converted on the other end
with Evans' scoop shot in the lane, building a 108-104 lead with
55.7 seconds left.
The Nuggets (27-35) got 22 points and 14 rebounds from Faried, 15
points and 12 assists from Lawson, and 15 points from Brooks, who
scored 12 in the fourth quarter. It wasn't enough to overcome
Denver's 27 turnovers.
"We started turning the ball over and they started just going to
the offensive boards and crashing and got everything," Faried said.
That pretty much summed up Davis' night.
NOTES: Pelicans coach Monty Williams said he likes the way his team
responded to an eight-game losing streak with back-to-back wins
against the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. "We got
contributions from a few guys," Williams said. "(G) Tyreke (Evans)
has been able to score more. (G) Eric (Gordon) has been pretty
balanced, and (PF Anthony Davis) has been really good. We need all
of it to give ourselves a chance to win." ... Denver coach Brian
Shaw is impressed by the way PG Ty Lawson expanded his offensive
game. Lawson recorded a double-double for the 13th time in 19 games
Sunday. "He puts in his work," Shaw said. "He actually has pretty
decent form. His shot isn't broken. It's not the best part of his
game, but it's something he works on every day and is getting better
and better."
