The New Orleans Pelicans (15-27) earned their fourth win in five games on Thursday, defeating the Detroit Pistons (23-20) 115-99.
After sitting at fourteenth in the Western Conference for over a month, the Pelicans have been able to turn things around, and now sit just 3.5 games out from the eighth seed. With the win, New Orleans also improved to 10-9 at home on the season, placing them at above .500 at the Smoothie King Center for the first time in 2015-16.
Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond squared off in what proved to be a battle between big men on Thursday. Davis recorded a game-high 32 points, while Drummond poured in 19 points, pulled down 22 rebounds, and stole the ball four times. Despite Drummond's high individual rebounding total, the two teams ended up dead even on the glass, with each squad grabbing 44 rebounds. Drummond also went 3 for 5 at the free-throw line just one day after setting the NBA record for missed free-throws after going 13 for 36 in Houston.
Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons in scoring with 23 points in a game-high 41 minutes. The 22-year-old ranks third in the league in minutes per game, and Thursday's matchup saw no deviation from that trend. For New Orleans, meanwhile, shooting guard Tyreke Evans filled the stat sheet with a 22-point, 10-assist double-double. Evans also recorded four rebounds and two steals.
Detroit will travel to Denver for a matchup against the Nuggets on Saturday. New Orleans will also play on Saturday, continuing the team's homestead with a visit from the Milwaukee Bucks.
