Anthony Davis scores season-high 48 points as New Orleans Pelicans beat Dallas Mavericks
Saturday 29 December 2018 09:17, UK
Anthony Davis produced a season-best 48-point performance as the New Orleans Pelicans secured a dramatic comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks.
Davis was at his MVP-calibre best as he connected on 20-of-32 shots and made 8-of-11 free throws to power the Pelicans to a 114-112 victory that snapped their five-game losing streak. He also pulled down 17 rebounds for good measure.
'AD' took advantage of his match-up with the Mavericks' Maxi Kleber to open his account in the first quarter, dominating the German power forward in the low post to score with a jump shot, baseline dunk and an alley-oop slam. A put-back dunk, turnaround jumper and step-through dunk followed as he racked up 14 points in the opening period.
Poor three-point shooting in the first half saw the Pelicans fall behind but Davis led them back into the game in the third quarter, blocking an attempted Dennis Smith Jr dunk, hustling to retrieve possession then launching a fast-break with a bounce pass that set up a Solomon Hill dunk.
As time ticked down in the fourth quarter, Davis hit another jumper to give New Orleans a 111-109 lead with 2:12 left. A Luka Doncic three-pointer restored Dallas' lead, but Davis answered with a three-point play that gave the Pelicans a 114-112 cushion with 43 seconds left.
It proved enough to seal the Pelicans' first win in six games.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Davis' stellar 48-point performance
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