In a thrilling game at the Smoothie King Center, New Orleans pulled out a dramatic victory over Dallas, giving the Pelicans their first three-game winning streak of 2014-15. Anthony Davis made countless big plays in crunch time, including making four free throws in the final 12 seconds, as well as intercepting a Dallas inbound pass with 9 ticks left. Three days after he was officially named an All-Star starter, Davis turned in one of his signature performances of his third pro season, particularly with the outcome hanging in the balance.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Anthony Davis collected the rebound after a Monta Ellis three-pointer misfired from deep, just before the final buzzer. Davis, who fired up the crowd throughout the night with his individual exploits, screamed in celebration and walked toward the left sideline, where he was greeted by appreciative courtside fans.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Anthony Davis registered 28 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and five steals, none bigger than the one that denied the Mavericks on the most important possession of the game. Davis only had one block, but was incredibly disruptive defensively nonetheless, frequently getting in the passing lanes. His 28-10-5 stat line in points, rebounds and steals was only the second ever a Pelicans player had done that in team history.
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
Along with Anthony Davis, Quincy Pondexter has been noticeably focused on firing up the home crowd lately, partly with emotion but also his tendency to make aggressive hustle plays. The Pelicans are now 14-5 at home. Pondexter was the Pelicans’ fourth-leading scorer Sunday with 14 points and was invaluable in an array of categories, including his five rebounds, one block and sticky individual defense.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“Amazing, amazing, amazing. You haven’t seen crowds like that a lot here lately. It brought back a lot of memories from my rookie year here, with Chris Paul and David West. We’re bringing it back. We’re going to be fine – I want the fans to be here and trust in us. There were times when the game could’ve gone either way, but we stayed together, fought together.” – Quincy Pondexter on the exciting atmosphere at the Smoothie King Center
“The kid is unbelievable. You can’t compare him to anyone because we haven’t seen a player like him before. It’s amazing that he’s so young and still has so much more improvement to get. I’m happy as hell I’m on his team. He’s a winner. You can tell in his heart that he wants to win games. He’s not going out and trying to get his numbers; you see that with some talented guys. He’s trying to get wins. And he digs deep, encourages other guys. He’s learning how to be a leader. I feel bad for the rest of the league the rest of his career.” - Quincy Pondexter on Anthony Davis
“This was huge for us. Big win, everyone contributed with our hearts. It’s a big team win. A division opponent, a team that’s in our conference, and a team that’s up there (in the standings). But we’ve got to enjoy it for a couple hours, and then we’ve got to come back and we’ve got another (game) with Philadelphia, knowing what they did to us up there.” – Anthony Davis on the win over Dallas and Monday’s second game of an all-home back-to-back vs. Philadelphia
BY THE NUMBERS
79-for-160: Combined shooting from the field for the two teams. In an extremely well-played game, New Orleans made just over half of its shots, making 40 of 79 attempts. Dallas was 39 of 81.
19: Total turnovers for the two teams. In another sign of the crisp basketball on display Sunday, both squads committed less than their season average in turnovers.
36: New Orleans bench points. One of the deepest teams in the league in recent years, Dallas has often dominated this department vs. NOLA, but this time the Pelicans held a 36-19 edge. Ryan Anderson dropped in 18 points, while Quincy Pondexter contributed 14.
FAN TWEET OF THE GAME
From a national perspective, there have been times recently when the Pelicans were all but dismissed as a bona fide threat in the West postseason race, particularly after Oklahoma City surged upon Kevin Durant’s return from injury. But after the Thunder briefly moved ahead of the Pelicans in the standings, New Orleans has leapfrogged Oklahoma City (22-22), now one game ahead after OKC lost to Cleveland earlier Sunday. In addition, over the past three days, New Orleans has sliced its deficit behind eighth-place Phoenix (26-20) in half, from four to two games. The Pelicans need to keep winning games, particularly at home, but if things break right, they may be able to put more heat on the Suns. As @phelpsalot tweeted: “phx has a gauntlet type schedule too.” Phoenix plays Washington, Chicago, Golden State, Memphis and Portland in its next five games.
#TAKEFLIGHT QUESTION OF THE NIGHT
The Pelicans’ six-game homestand began Sunday with a quality win and continues with games against Philadelphia, Denver, the Clippers, Atlanta and Oklahoma City. What would you consider to be a successful homestand? Several fans noted the importance of an upcoming Feb. 4 home game against Oklahoma City, which is followed by a Feb. 6 road game at the Thunder.
From @MichaelHJordan: “need the next 2 BADLY. And if you can beat OKC and steal one from Clips or Hawks, 5-1, good shape. No less than 4-2.”
From @nairb_d: “4-2. Or 3-3 if I can have the OKC game AND the road game at OKC following the homestand.”
From @ThePraff: “4-2 would be solid, 5-1 would be outstanding.”
From @Jeff_Rhodes: “4-2, with one of the 4 coming over Oklahoma City.”