Davis leads New Orleans past San Antonio
Anthony Davis had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a 97-90 victory over the slumping San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
The Pelicans earned consecutive wins over the Spurs for the first time in team history. They also won 100-99 in San Antonio on Nov. 8.
Ryan Anderson scored 22 points for New Orleans (15-14), and Jrue Holiday added 15 points and seven assists.
San Antonio played without point guard Tony Parker, who was sidelined by a lingering left hamstring strain. Parker played the previous two games, including Thursday's 114-106 loss to Oklahoma City, but coach Gregg Popovich said the injury is still a problem.
Tim Duncan had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs (18-13), and Cory Joseph also scored 20 points. San Antonio has dropped six of seven.
The Pelicans led 48-44 at halftime, and Davis helped his team stay in front in the third. He had 10 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in the period, including a forceful rejection against Duncan that drew loud cheers from the crowd.
Davis rested at the start of the fourth quarter, and New Orleans' reserves helped push the lead to 81-72 on Anderson's jumper with 7:50 to go. John Salmons' 3-pointer increased the Pelicans' advantage to 12 with 5 1/2 minutes left.
New Orleans scored 20 points off of 17 San Antonio turnovers and outrebounded the Spurs by five.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Marco Belinelli scored 13 points, and Manu Ginobili finished with 12. ... San Antonio led 24-20 after one.
Pelicans: New Orleans won for only the second time this season when it shoots a lower percentage than its opponent. The Pelicans shot 41.7 percent from the field, compared to 49 percent for the Spurs. The only other such win was against Utah on Nov. 22.