Pelicans (22-20), Knicks (19-24)
NEW YORK – Riding another huge game from Anthony Davis at Madison Square Garden, New Orleans rallied all the way back Sunday from a 19-point deficit to force overtime, where it outplayed New York, securing an outstanding come-from-behind victory.
As has become his custom, Davis erupted in MSG, racking up 48 points by sinking shots from all over the floor. It was the third consecutive trip to the historic and well-known venue that Davis has tallied 35-plus points. In this instance, the Pelicans needed all of them.
New Orleans outscored New York 27-13 in the fourth quarter to overcome what had been a 96-82 deficit through three quarters. Davis tallied 13 of his points in the final period and OT, highlighted by the game-tying layup in the final few seconds of regulation. Davis tied it at 109 off an entry pass from DeMarcus Cousins that set Davis up to score right on the doorstep over a pair of Knicks defenders.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Jrue Holiday sank free throws with 7 seconds remaining in overtime, giving New Orleans a five-point margin. Holiday was critical earlier in OT as well, converting on a three-point play and sinking a three-point shot for six important points.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Davis, who had 40 points last season at New York in only 29 minutes of action, had to extend much further Sunday. Over his 49 minutes on the floor, the four-time All-Star shot 17/30 from the field, went 12/15 from the foul line and sank two treys to account for his 48-point outing. For good measure, Davis also grabbed 17 rebounds and was pivotal on the defensive end with four steals and three blocks.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“Resilience. Toughness. Mental toughness. We just wanted to come out and get this win. We felt like we owed these guys. They came in our home and beat us (on Dec. 30) in a game we felt like we should’ve won.” – Davis on what the Pelicans demonstrated in rallying from behind; he also alluded to the Knicks’ late-game comeback last month in New Orleans
“Someone said earlier that (Davis) plays well here, and I say I hope that continues. I thought he was phenomenal. He just did a great job. Good job defensively, too. I think (Kristaps) Porzingis got open for a few three-pointers, but for the most part I thought we did a good job on him. (Porzingis is) a great player, and he’s going to get his points, but really from the third quarter on, we really made him work hard.” – Alvin Gentry on Davis’ play and Davis and the Pelicans holding Porzingis to 10/24 shooting from the field
“It was a big win. It was a good start to the road trip.” – Holiday on the significance of Sunday’s victory
“In the first half, we turned the ball over. We also missed a lot of wide-open shots that we usually make. In the second half we started going to the basket, stopped turning the ball over, and from there we can set up our defense. (Which led to) not as many shots in transition (for New York), which is great for us.” – Holiday on how the game changed in New Orleans’ favor after the Pelicans had faced a double-figure deficit much of the afternoon
“We knew we had a chance to win the game. We just had to straighten our own selves out.” – Cousins on cleaning up the turnovers that had plagued the Pelicans early in Sunday’s game
BY THE NUMBERS
47.4: Shooting percentages of both teams from the field. The Pelicans again had a rough night from three-point range (9/32), though E’Twaun Moore was an exception there (4/7).
6: Place in the Western Conference standings for the Pelicans after Sunday’s win, the highest they’ve been in weeks. That sixth-place standing was subject to change based on the Portland-Minnesota game late Sunday.
19: New Orleans turnovers, but 17 of those came in the first three quarters. New York was worse, coughing up a total of 22 turnovers, including four in the final 17 minutes.