Monday, January 30, 2017

Holiday, Davis lead Pelicans past Spurs 119-103

NEW ORLEANS -- Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry's smile and laugh gave him the look of a coach who was practically giddy about a second victory over an elite team in five days. Yet his words and tone told the story of coach still trying to figure out why his team is so erratic.
Jrue Holiday scored 23 points, Anthony Davis had 16 and tied a career high with 22 rebounds, and New Orleans snapped San Antonio's five-game winning streak with a 119-103 victory Friday night.
"We're capable of beating anybody," said Gentry, whose team beat Cleveland on Monday. "Obviously, this week we've kind of proven that with wins over the world champs and then a team that's going to have an opportunity to win a world championship.
"That says a lot but we keep going back to that word, `consistency," added Gentry, whose team lost to league-worst Brooklyn last week and trails Denver by two games for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. "We can't do it just against the great teams. ... We've got to do it against the teams that are struggling -- like we are -- to get into the playoffs."
The Spurs had been winning lately despite having starters Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker sidelined with nagging injuries. San Antonio fell with both back on the court. Leonard, returning from sore left hand that caused him to miss two games, scored 23, but showed some rustiness, missing 10 of 16 shots. Parker, who'd sat out four games with a sore left foot, hit only two of seven shots and one miss was a momentum-stalling air ball from the right corner in the final five minutes.
"We ran out of gas. New Orleans was aggressive. They played great for 48 minutes. They moved the ball, hit the boards hard and got loose balls," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Kawhi did a good job. Tony, again, hasn't played in 10 days."
Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Solomon Hill added 16 points -- including 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range -- for New Orleans, which made 10 of 20 3-point shots in the second half to finish 13 of 30 from deep.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Davis Bertans added 14 points for the Spurs, who trailed by only a point to start the fourth quarter. But the Pelicans were composed at home and pulled away thanks to late surges by Jones, who scored 11 in the fourth quarter; Tyreke Evans, who scored nine of his 11 points in the final period; and Hill, who scored seven points down the stretch.
New Orleans' lead grew to 21 on Davis' soaring, one-handed, put-back dunk, which made it 119-98 with 1:25 to go.
Asked why such performances have been more elusive than routine for New Orleans, Davis said it was "a mental thing."
"No matter who we have on the floor or who we're playing against, we need to move the basketball, play for each other, and play defensively," Davis said. "We did that tonight. We did it against Cleveland."
New Orleans held a slim lead after one quarter, but Leonard asserted himself offensively in the second, when his 14 points helped fuel a 37-point period for the Spurs. David Lee also was active inside in the first half, with 10 points that included a pair of dunks and two put-backs.
The Spurs briefly led by as many as 11 before Holiday's 9-foot pull-up made it 57-48 at halftime.
"We had a great first half," Parker said. "In the second half, they were shooting the ball very well. They made a lot of 3s, so we have to give them credit."
GAME LEGS
Donatas Motiejunas, signed earlier this month and playing his 10th game, scored 10 points, reaching at least that many for a third straight game. He also had seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks -- one from behind on Bertans' fast-break layup attempt.

"I feel more and more confident out there and all the players are starting to trust me," Motiejunas said. "What I see is we're super talented and any time we beat a good team, our noses go up and the average team comes in and teaches us a lesson. ... We need to learn from these things."
TIP-INS
Spurs: Leonard scored fewer than 30 for the first time in six games. ... Aldridge has nine double-doubles. ... San Antonio fell to 20-5 on the road.
Pelicans: E'Twaun Moore scored 13 points. ... New Orleans snapped a string of five straight losses to the Spurs.
UP NEXT
Spurs: Host Dallas on Sunday.
Pelicans: Host Washington on Sunday.
Check out the team sites for the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans for more game coverage.

Matchup


FG Made-Attempted	33-85	48-93
Field Goal %	38.8	51.6
3PT Made-Attempted	12-28	13-30
Three Point %	42.9	43.3
FT Made-Attempted	25-29	10-14
Free Throw %	86.2	71.4
Total Rebounds	50	55
Offensive Rebounds	12	15
Defensive Rebounds	32	39
Team Rebounds	6	1
Assists	20	29
Steals	10	8
Blocks	5	5
Total Turnovers	12	14
Points Off Turnovers	16	17
Fast Break Points	12	13
Points in Paint	30	60
Personal Fouls	13	20
Technical Fouls	1	0
Flagrant Fouls	0	0