Anthony Davis Scores 25 Points, Pelicans Roll Past Celtics 106-105

Anthony Davis wore a supportive strap on his back on his aching back and still managed to carry the New Orleans Pelicans to a 106-105 home victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

Anthony Davis Scores 25 Points, Pelicans Roll Past Celtics 106-105

Davis recorded 25 points, 16 rebounds, four steals and two blocks, and New Orleans won for the second time in their first 11 games.

Tim Frazier also made a few big plays for the Pelicans at the end of the game. He made a key steal of Marcus Smart’s inbound pass near New Orleans’ basket with 14 seconds remaining. He also drew a shooting foul from Kelly Olynyk with 2.5 seconds left, setting up his go-ahead free throw for the final margin.

”He plays big,” Davis said of Frazier, who finished with 10 points. ”He went in there with all them trees down there and got that steal. … And then, that was a great job, a high basketball IQ, to draw that foul.”

Langston Galloway scored a season-high 21 points for the Pelicans, who opened the season with eight consecutive losses. Fellow reserve Terrence Jones added 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds.

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with a season-high 37 points, and added seven assists. Thomas even got a driving scoop that tied the game with 7 seconds remaining.

Avery Bradley added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, and Smart contributed 15 points.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens stated his concern entering the game wasn’t so much what Davis would do, but whether he’d receive more of the help he’s been missing.

”Anthony is going to be Anthony,” said Stevens, whose team held Davis to 7-of-22 shooting. ”You can’t let Langston Galloway go off. Jones has had great games against us for as long as I can remember. … They really hurt us tonight.”

Partly because Boston was out of timeouts and unable to advance the ball, they failed to take any decent shots in the final 2 seconds. The Celtics’ first inbound attempt from their own baseline deflected off the Pelicans along the sideline with a tenth of a second remaining.

The Celtics then attempted a long pass in hopes of a tip-in, but the inbound hit the rim and Smart’s attempted put-back amongst a crowd of players fell off the mark.

Bradley said his team didn’t do well, and failed to give Thomas help.

”It can’t just be Isaiah,” Bradley said. ”It’s got to be other players out there making shots. … Everybody’s upset about it.”

The Pelicans (2-9) will next visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, while the Celtics (5-5) will host the Dallas Mavericks that night.

OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 07: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans in action against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on November 7, 2016 in Oakland, California.