The New Orleans Pelicans (16-27) recorded a home win against the Milwaukee Bucks (19-27) on Saturday, good for the team's fifth victory in six games.
New Orleans, last season's Western Conference eighth seed, has been slowly climbing out of the bottom of the standings since the start of the New Year. The win over Milwaukee puts the Pelicans just three games behind the Sacramento Kings in the conference playoff race.
Per usual, the Pels owed a large portion of their success on Saturday to the play of superstar Anthony Davis. The fourth-year power forward failed to repeat his starting All-Star honors this season, but has quietly been averaging a double-double with 23.4 points per game. Davis's game was nothing short of the ordinary on Saturday, as he posted 22 points while pulling down seven rebounds, dishing out five assists, and blocking four shots. It was forward Ryan Anderson, however, who led the team in scoring with 23 points while coming off the bench. Anderson converted an impressive 6 of 11 shots from beyond the three-point line.
The Bucks are now facing a two-game slide after finally seeing a three-game stretch of good luck. Milwaukee currently sits at last in the central division and thirteenth in the Eastern Conference, just one year after a surprising appearance in the playoffs. The Bucks held advantages in rebounding, field-goal shooting, and free-throw shooting over the Pelicans, but were still blown out in large part due to an 18-8 disadvantage in the turnover department. Perimeter defense also posed a problem for the Bucks, as New Orleans went an impressive 17 for 31 from beyond the arc.
Milwaukee will have two days of rest before hosting the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. New Orleans, meanwhile, will continue their homestand on Monday as they face the Houston Rockets at Smoothie King Center.
