This is a video of Anthony Davis moments before halftime of Pelicans vs. Clippers Tuesday night.
NBA scores 2018: Anthony Davis is still unstoppable, and so are the Rockets
Davis went off for 41 points after a rib injury, and the Rockets won their 16th straight game.
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Davis bumped hips with DeAndre Jordan and immediately left the game in the second quarter. He labored on the way to the locker room in what appeared to be a considerable amount of pain. The Pelicans diagnosed him with a rib contusion and said he was available to return in the second half. He had 10 points through the first two quarters.
Yet somehow, someway, The Brow finished with 41 points on 54.8 percent shooting from the field. He scored as the roll man, he scored on post-ups, he scored on fadeaway jump shots and step-back threes. And in the end, Davis scored enough to carry a New Orleans team desperately clawing for its playoff livelihood in the wild Western Conference.
“Knowing the position that we’re in, I’m gonna do whatever I can to help the team,” he said after the game.
The Pelicans have won nine games in a row, and Davis is the catalyst. A.D. is averaging 37.6 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.9 steals per game during New Orleans’ winning streak. He’s positioned himself as the definite MVP runner-up behind James Harden this season.
Pelicans fans exhaled a giant sigh of relief when Davis returned from his rib contusion. That anxiety quickly tapered off when he scored 31 points to power Nawlins past Los Angeles. For the moment, then Pelicans are safe as the No. 4 seed in the West. But given the turbulent state of the conference’s standings, they’ll need A.D. to be just as good for the rest of the season if they want to stay in the playoff picture.
What the Thunder?
The Rockets only beat the Thunder by 10 points on Tuesday, but to anyone who watched, it was clear Houston was far and away the better team on every side of the floor. Defensively the Rockets had OKC’s number by switching every screen and forcing ball-handlers to make plays off the dribble. Offensively, Houston shot better than 50 percent on threes.
As for the Thunder, well, this quirky stat made rounds on social media after Russell Westbrook scored 28 points on 25 shot attempts.
Other things that happened
The Knicks had no answer for Damian Lillard
Playoff Check
- The Nuggets lost to the Mavericks, but because the Pelicans beat the Clippers, Denver is still No. 8 and Los Angeles is No. 9.
- The Wizards (controversially) beat the Heat and dropped Miami to No. 8 in the East.
- The Rockets beat the Thunder. OKC is now only a game ahead of Denver for eighth in the West.
Tank Check
- The Mavericks beat the Nuggets and could move down in the tank-a-thon if Sacramento loses its next game.
- The Nets lost to the Warriors, which does the Cavaliers a giant favor because they own Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round pick.
- The Knicks improved their #TankForDoncic standing with a convincing loss to the Trail Blazers.
Wednesday’s NBA Scores
Wizards 117, Heat 113 OT
Rockets 122, Thunder 112
Mavericks 118, Nuggets 107
Trail Blazers 111, Knicks 87
Warriors 114, Nets 101
Pelicans 121, Clippers 116
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