Anthony Davis’ authoritative put-back dunk in the final minutes summed up a night on which his relentless play around the basket forced Phoenix’s three tallest players to foul out.
Davis on Monday scored a season-high 53 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked five shots as the New Orleans Pelicans extended their winning streak to six with a 125-116 victory over the hapless Phoenix Suns.
“Thank you Anthony, for carrying us,” Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday said. “Look at his numbers, man. He’s something else.”
Photo: AP
Davis has scored no fewer than 27 points in a game during New Orleans’ winning streak, scoring at least 38 five times and more than 40 four times.
After 2.08m Davis hit his 21st free throw, the Suns had to guard the Pelicans’ All-Star power forward with 2.03m small forward Josh Jackson because 2.13m Dragan Bender and Alex Len, and 2.08m Marquese Chriss had all fouled out with nearly five minutes still to play.
“A lot of their bigs were in foul trouble. I just wanted to hang around the rim as much as possible, knowing I had the size advantage,” Davis said. “We’ll take any type of win, any type of way we can get it.”
Holiday scored 20 points for the Pelicans, whose season-best unbeaten run has pulled them into a tie with Portland for fifth place in the Western Conference, despite being without All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, who was lost for the rest of the season on Jan. 26 with a torn Achilles.
Emeka Okafor, brought back to the NBA for the first time since 2013 about a week after Cousins’ injury, scored 14 points.
“Right now, everybody’s playing their part. Everybody’s doing it together and then we’re doing it without one of our main guys, so it makes it more special, especially when everybody thought we were going to go down in the standings. We’re actually moving up,” Davis said.
Devin Booker had 40 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix, who lost their 10th straight and have not won this month.
T.J. Warren added 23 points, while Josh Jackson had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who led by as many as 17 in the second quarter, but fell behind for good with about five minutes left in the fourth.
“We are playing a lot better and I like that we are still fighting. Executing down the stretch is something that will come with us,” Booker said.
“We are a young team and we have to learn that.” he said.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS