Anthony Davis scores 45 as Pelicans snap Celtics win streak

LOS ANGELES, USA – Anthony Davis scored 45 points as the New Orleans Pelicans jolted the Boston Celtics, 116-113, in an overtime thriller at the TD Garden on Tuesday, January 16.

Davis, who before the game had brushed off reports linking him to a possible move to Boston, gave the home fans a glimpse of what they might be missing with a virtuoso performance.

The 24-year-old power forward was in sensational form, also chipping in with 16 rebounds and two assists, as the Pelicans improved to 23-20 to go into 6th place in the Western Conference standings.

Davis was backed with 23 points from Jrue Holiday while DeMarcus Cousins added 19. Ian Clark added 15 from the bench as the Pelicans held their nerve in overtime to close out the win.

The Celtics meanwhile remain firmly in charge at the top of the NBA’s Eastern Conference at 34-11, but saw a 7-game winning streak come to an end with the loss.

Kyrie Irving led the scoring for Boston with 27 points but the Celtics were left ruing an inability to close out the win after leading 101-96 with two minutes left in the 4th quarter.

Davis had provided the inspiration for New Orleans, producing two nerveless free throws to put New Orleans 104-102 ahead as the buzzer ticked closer.

But Irving conjured a driving layup with 11.8 seconds left to force overtime at 104-104.

Marcus Smart made a 10-foot pullup jumper to help Boston take a 113-110 lead with just over two minutes left in overtime. But Cousins hit back with a two-pointer before Holiday made it 114-113.

Holiday then sunk a 13-footer to make it 116-113 and the Pelicans held on. 

“I told him to be aggressive and he was,” Davis said of Holiday’s performance.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens blamed poor defensive play in the closing minutes for the defeat.

“We didn’t guard tonight,” he said. “We went on a drought quite late and that was critical. You’d like to have some of those shots back. 

“There was a lot that contributed to it but I’d say the defensive end, we were really poor on that end.”

– Rappler.com