Globale News » He averaged 35.9 points per game while shooting

NEW ORLEANS - As Anthony Davis soaked in the crescendo of cheers punctuating an intense but triumphant struggle with Dallas, the Pelicans All-Star noticed a fan standing before him with his arms invitingly extended to each side.So Davis gave the friendly stranger a hug.When youre out there having fun, theres no telling what youre going to do, Davis said. I didnt expect to go in the crowd. My body just walked me over there. When youre out there having fun and playing as hard as we play, your best emotions come out.Davis capped a 28-point, 10-rebound outing with go-ahead free throws in the final seconds and a pivotal steal, and New Orleans won its third straight game, 109-106 over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.The victory not only gave the Pelicans a season-long winning streak in what has been a frustratingly inconsistent season, but also ended a nine-game skid in their series with Dallas.We talked about how if we can beat a team like this it would be a big step for our program, Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. We knew it would be a tough, playoff-type game.Tyreke Evans had 24 points, including a running hook in the final half-minute, to go with a season-high 12 assists for New Orleans. Ryan Anderson added 18 points.Monta Ellis scored 36 points, giving Dallas a 106-105 lead with a running scoop over Quincy Pondexter and Omer Asik with 12.3 seconds left, but Davis drew a foul from Tyson Chandler while receiving Evans inbound pass and hit the go-ahead free throws.Then Davis, who had five steals, intercepted Rajon Rondos inbound pass intended for Dirk Nowitzki and added two more free throws.Davis said Williams had instructed the Pelicans to deny Ellis the inbound pass.Dirk was the only one left who can score ... so I just tried to deny him the ball and make (Rondo) force a hang-time pass, knowing that I could probably get a piece of it, Davis said.Nowitzki said Dallas was hurt by being out of timeouts on the play.We just had to throw it up, Nowitzki said. Its hard to lob it up over one of the longest guys in the NBA.Ellis had one more chance to tie it, but his 27-foot shot missed in the final seconds.Nowitzki scored 24 points for Dallas, which has lost two straight.Nothing is going to be given to us on the road, Nowitzki said after questioning the late foul call against Chandler that led to Davis go-ahead free throws. We still had enough chances. We just have to be better.Dallas coach Rick Carlisle also cited the officiating as a factor, particularly the call on Chandler.The difference in the game was the whistles, really, Carlisle said. You never want to see a call like that made, but they made it. So we got to play through it.Pondexter scored 14 points for New Orleans, while Asik added 10 points and 11 rebounds.Rondo finished with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Dwight Powell had 10 points for Dallas.Putbacks by Davis and Asik — along with Davis technical free throw after Carlisle was whistled for arguing — helped New Orleans match its largest lead at 81-71 in the third quarter. But Ellis came right back with consecutive 3s.In the fourth quarter, Ellis hit another 3, then a floater over his shoulder and off the glass with his back to the basket, giving Dallas a 99-97 lead. Nowitzkis 3 put Dallas up 102-99 before Eric Gordons third 3-pointer tied it.TIP-INSMavericks: Chandler briefly left in the third quarter to get an X-ray after colliding with Davis, but it was negative and he returned in the fourth quarter. ... Carlisle (599-413) remained just short of 600 career regular-season coaching victories.Pelicans: After going 4-12 against the Southwest Division last season, New Orleans is 6-4 in divisional games this season. ... The Pelicans, who are two game behind Phoenix for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, are 14-5 at home, where they play eight of their next nine games. Weve got to try to win all eight, Davis said.ANDERSONS RETURNAnderson had been given the Pelicans previous game off to rest sore ankles. In his return, he made 6 of 10 shots, including 2 of 3 from deep, and all four free throws in nearly 28 minutes.UP NEXTMavericks: host Memphis on TuesdayPelicans: host Philadelphia on Monday Custom Boston Red Sox Nike Jerseys . LOUIS -- The St. Wholesale Custom Baseball Jerseys . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.co...es-nike-jerseys. The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Custom Baltimore Orioles Nike Jerseys .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps. Custom Houston Astros Nike Jerseys .com) - Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett is active for Sundays matchup with the Miami Dolphins.OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder showed Wednesday night that they dont always need to have Kevin Durant score in the fourth quarter to win a close game. Durant scored just two of his 26 points in the final 12 minutes and his teammates -- including Derek Fisher, Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson -- stood in the gap, helping Oklahoma City pull away for a 106-97 win over a Minnesota Timberwolves team without Kevin Love and two other starters. Jackson added 20 points (seven in the fourth quarter) and nine assists for the Thunder, who won for the 12th time in their last 13 games and became the NBAs first team this season to 40 wins. The Thunder won for the ninth straight time at home against Minnesota, which entered the game 3 1/2 games behind Dallas in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot from the Western Conference. The Thunder have won eight straight home games and are 15-1 this season against Western Conference foes at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "We just focus on doing our job every night and living with the results and theyve been pretty good for a while now," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "We have expectations to a standard that we want to play at and I think weve done a good job with that going into the All-Star break. "This is funky time for a lot of teams because a lot of players are probably thinking about the break and what theyre doing, getting their plans together. Weve never been a team that has done that and I dont anticipate that happening this year." Love, an All-Star forward, sat out with a stiff neck after taking a hard fall Tuesday in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Center Nikola Pecovic (ankle injury) and forward Corey Brewer (family leave) also didnt play for the Timberwolves. Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said he was proud of the way his undermanned team fought. "I think it shows that these guys compete," Adelman said. "They werent afraid to go play them with three starters out. It gave the other guys an opportunity to play. I couldnt be prouder of the way they competed. We just ran a little bit out of gas at the end." With Minnesota devoting its defensive energies to stopping Durant, other Thunder players made the key plays in the final minutes. The score was tied in the closing seconds of the third quarter when Fisher attempted a 3-pointer from the corner that appeared to be long, but Minnesotas Gorgui Dieng accidentally tapped it into the basket to give the Thunder an 80-77 lead. Fisher finished with 13 points, his second-best offensive outing of the season. "Ive never seen that before," Durant said of the goaltending call on Dieng. "That guy is a rookie . so Im sure hes going to learn from that one. BBut that gave us a boost and at the start of the fourth those guys came out and played extremely hard and thats what we needed.dddddddddddd" Lamb opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer to push Oklahoma Citys lead to six points. The Thunder finished off the 16-4 run with a dunk by Lamb with 7:17 left that made it 93-81, but Oklahoma City suddenly went cold from the field. Durant was called for a technical foul with 4:39 left after protesting a no-call, but Ricky Rubio missed the ensuing free throw, leaving the score at 93-86. Minnesota pulled within 95-89 after a 3-pointer by Robbie Hummel with 3:45 left, but the Timberwolves came no closer. "We came into the game aggressive and we fought all the way through, but in the last five minutes, I think we missed too many free throws and easy shots while they made shots at the end," said Rubio, who had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Thabo Sefolosha, who missed his first seven 3-point attempts, made one from the corner with 1:43 left to extend the Thunders lead to 100-90 and Minnesota came no closer than nine points the rest of the way. "Theyre NBA players, too," Durant said of his teammates. "Its not like Ive been scoring every point in the fourth. We play off each other. Guys hit big shots and we got stops. . We play a team game here." Durant, who also had nine rebounds and seven assists, continued his strong play against the Timberwolves. He had a triple-double in a home win over the Timberwolves on Dec. 1 and scored 48 points in a win at Minnesota on Jan. 4 before his outburst Wednesday. The Timberwolves led by as many as six points in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City took a 56-54 lead after Durant swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Durant had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists by halftime. Dante Cunningham added 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Minnesota. Serge Ibaka had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder. NOTES: Brewer didnt travel with the team following the birth of his son on Tuesday. The Timberwolves say hes expected to return for Fridays game at New Orleans. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute replaced Brewer in the starting lineup. ... Durant was the Western Conference player of the month for January. He averaged 35.9 points per game while shooting 54.9 per cent during the month, leading Oklahoma City to a 10-game winning streak. He scored 30 or more points in 12 straight games. ... Olympic gold-medal winning gymnasts Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, who live in nearby Norman, attended the game. ... Hummel saw his first action since Jan. 6 at Philadelphia. He played 17 minutes and scored five points. .. Oklahoma City C Kendrick Perkins matched his season high with 12 rebounds. ' ' '