Hawks (6-1), Pelicans (0-5)
Anthony Davis equaled his career high in scoring and New Orleans outscored Atlanta in three of four quarters, but it still wasn’t quite enough for the Pelicans to crack the win column Friday. The Hawks, who led by as many as 17 points, held on to win their sixth straight game by compiling a typically excellent performance on offense, shooting 53.2 percent from the field and tallying 32, 31 and 32 in the final three quarters, respectively. New Orleans put together a big fourth-period rally and tied it at 108 with 3:37 remaining, but from there Atlanta held a 13-7 edge.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
New Orleans attempted an alley oop pass from the sideline to Anthony Davis with 29 seconds left, but the ball hit the rim as Davis attempted to reel it in from Luke Babbitt. Atlanta’s Paul Millsap sank one free throw at the other end to make it a three-possession margin for the Hawks.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Davis had a breakout performance individually, tying a career high in scoring with 43 points. The familiar Davis of the previous two All-Star seasons was back, highlighted by an efficient shooting performance (14 of 23 on field goals, 14 of 16 on free throws).
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
With Jrue Holiday only playing five first-half minutes, the Pelicans needed to go elsewhere for help at point guard. Ish Smith came through with a stellar distributing game, often finding Davis for point-blank shots or dunks. Smith bested his career high in assists by handing out 11 dimes in 34 minutes. He also had zero turnovers.
