Ten days after one of their most frustrating defeats of the season, New Orleans exacted some payback against Philadelphia, rolling to a dominant victory. On Jan. 16, Philadelphia posted a surprising 96-81 triumph in Pennsylvania, but New Orleans was without Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday in that game due to injury. Holiday (leg) remains on the injured list for the Pelicans, but Davis was back with a vengeance this time against the 76ers, authoring one of his best performances of the regular season. He wasn’t needed in the fourth quarter, with New Orleans building an insurmountable advantage. The Pelicans won both games of a back-to-back for the first time, not coincidentally doing so at the Smoothie King Center, where their 15-5 record is one of the best in the NBA. NOLA also pulled within 1.5 games of eighth-place Phoenix in the Western Conference standings.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Dante Cunningham nailed a baseline jumper from the right side, giving New Orleans a 79-59 lead with 2:24 left in the third quarter. The mid-range shot gave the Pelicans their first 20-point lead of the night, after a string of Anthony Davis highlights increased what had been a 52-43 halftime edge.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Anthony Davis was a non-stop, one-man highlight reel, throwing down alley oop dunks, outleaping the 76ers around the rim for rebounds, even catching an outlet pass and pulling off a spin move on a fast break to deftly maneuver around 76ers point guard Larry Drew II. Davis finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and likely would’ve approached some of the best numbers of his career, except he only logged 31 minutes, with none coming after the third quarter.
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
Normally when Tyreke Evans has a six-point game, it’s because his jump shot was off target or he had trouble finishing around the rim. This wasn’t your typical Evans outing, though, as he only attempted six shots (making two), but he handed out 12 assists. With starting point guard Jrue Holiday out of action for a while, Evans’ distribution comes at the perfect time. Evans also had 12 assists in Sunday’s win over Dallas.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“He is a stud. He is just one of those rare cornerstones of a program that you can build around. I think that Monty (Williams) has done an excellent job of featuring him and finding ways to go to him, and the other players complement him. He is just one of the elite players in the league.” – Sixers Coach Brett Brown on Anthony Davis
“It feels great. We knew coming off a big win against Dallas and playing a back-to-back, we knew we were at home and trying to get this win, four in a row. But we know this is not where we stop. We’ve got two tough teams coming up – Denver and the Clippers – and we’re going to try to get those two as well.”
“I’m looking for AD and Omer finishing around the rim. We play at our best when we move the ball like that, just finding guys. Everybody had fun tonight. That’s the way we want to play. Hopefully we can keep it up.” – Tyreke Evans on his second straight 12-assist game
BY THE NUMBERS
40: As Pelicans radio host Daniel Sallerson pointed out, Anthony Davis nearly matched the entire scoring output of Philadelphia’s starting five (40 points).
7-1: New Orleans’ record in its last eight home games, a post-Christmas stretch that includes wins over playoff contenders San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, Memphis and Dallas. The Pelicans have also beaten the Lakers and Philadelphia during that span.
52-38: New Orleans rebounding advantage Monday vs. Philadelphia.
FAN TWEET OF THE GAME
Ryan Anderson has been a completely different player at home this season, a trend that continued Monday with him connecting on four of his five three-point attempts. Anderson netted 19 points vs. Philadelphia, to go with seven rebounds in only 24 minutes of action. In a reference to the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl-qualifying New England Patriots, @XOHoops jokingly suggested something else could be in play to explain Anderson’s shooting in the Smoothie King Center: “Someone needs to check the air pressure in those balls (the Pelicans use at home).”
#TAKEFLIGHT QUESTION OF THE NIGHT
New Orleans is now only 1.5 games out of eighth place in the West. How has the Pelicans’ current four-game winning streak impacted your outlook about this season?
From @HNoll21: “It didn’t. … I still see them as a team that can sneak into the playoffs and give a top seed some serious problems.”
From @adamotrep: “hasn't changed it. Had a positive outlook all season, knew it was just a matter of time until the guys put it all together.”
From @orioles2110: “When we lost in NY I called an 8 game winning streak. Halfway there. I believe we truly have a great playoff shot.”