NBA Scores 2018: Anthony Davis is incredible and 9 other things from Friday night

The Nuggets are rolling along just fine with a tough schedule

Feb 24, 2018, 12:30 PM UTC

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

No DeMarcus Cousins? No problem. Anthony Davis has the Pelicans covered. When their All-Star center went down hope for the playoffs seemed all but lost. They started a bit slow, but have won their last four games behind simply amazing performances from Anthony Davis — none better than his 45-point, 17-rebound, five-steal, five-block and two-assist performance on Friday against the Heat.

Davis is the only player in league history to ever put up at least 45 points, 15 rebounds, five steals and five blocks in a single game. That’s a stat line we might not ever see again. He caught lobs, blocked shots, and did work in the post.

He even ended Dwyane Wade.

This was just an all-time performance from Davis when his team absolutely needed it. Make sure you keep this one on your DVR.

The Nuggets are on a roll

The Denver Nuggets are going streaking and it’s not a fluke. They’ve won four straight games and 10 of their last 14 games despite playing some of the best competition the league has to offer.

Here’s the thing: They aren’t blowing teams out. They’ve only got a 1.2 net rating over the last 15 games. But in that same stretch, nine of their 15 opponents have been legitimate playoff teams. They’ve beaten the Spurs twice, the Warriors, the Thunder and the Trail Blazers. Those games will be crucial when it’s time to decide playoff seeding.

The Nuggets are sitting at 33-26 after Friday night’s win against the Spurs and they’re just 1.5 games behind San Antonio for the three seed. A few weeks ago, it was unthinkable that they’d even be in the position they are now. But they’ve got a legitimate shot at homecourt advantage in the playoffs.

Their schedule doesn’t get much easier — they play the Rockets and the Cavaliers twice in their next six games. But this team has shown us time and again they don’t back down from challenges. We’ll see how things shake out for them in the coming weeks.

Gregg Popovich called BS on Mike Malone and cracked everyone up

In a postgame scrum, Malone was talking about how the Nuggets have grown over the last year and how, despite injuries and youth, they’ve held their place in the Western Conference’s playoff race. Malone said he didn’t feel like teams respected the Nuggets quite yet and Popovich wasn’t having it.

I cannot stop watching this. It makes sense, too! Of course the Spurs respect the Nuggets — they’ve lost to them twice. Shoutout to Pop, though, for always keeping it real.

The Lakers pick ain’t looking great for the Celtics

Los Angeles broke a three-game losing streak on Friday against the Mavericks and are currently slotted in 10th place for the lottery. They’re seven games back behind Phoenix for the first pick. 76ers fans might get lucky again.

Chris Paul legit came to a game looking like Yosemite Sam

And, of course, the Internet had jokes.

Yep, we have no chill.

The Rockets are still incredible, though

And Chris Paul was part of that. They’re the first seed in the Western Conference and don’t look like they’ll be slowed down anytime soon. They dominated the Wolves and their big three went off.

I guess you can wear whatever you want when you popping. Do you, CP3.