Cleveland Cavaliers vs New Orleans Pelicans Match Player Stats On Oct 28, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 28, 2017

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis scored 10 of his game-high 30 points in a two-minute stretch of the final quarter and DeMarcus Cousins recorded his seventh career triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 123-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center.

The victory improved the Pelicans' record to 3-3, the first time they have been at .500 in the last 981 days. They were last at .500 with a 27-27 mark on Feb. 20, 2015.

The Pelicans got just three points from their bench in the first 47 minutes but won going away. Besides Davis and Cousins, Jrue Holiday added 29 points and seven assists and E'Twaun Moore tied a career-high with 24 points.

The Cavaliers (3-3), who lost their second straight and seventh straight road game to the Pelicans, were paced by Kevin Love with 26 points and LeBron James with 18. They did not play in the final six minutes.

Love led a 3-point assault -- making three from long range in a little more than a minute -- to spark a 22-7 Cleveland run in a 6:19 span that turned a 65-52 deficit into a 73-72 lead. The Pelicans counterpunched with a 12-2 run, with 3-pointers by Moore and Holiday, and led 89-83 after three.

The Pelicans distributed the ball in the first half better than they have all season, recording 21 assists on 25 made field goals to take a 65-52 lead. The 21 assists tied a franchise record for most assists in a half.

New Orleans shot 58 percent from the field (25-of-43), and four of the five starters combined for 60 of the Pelicans' 65 first-half points.

Cousins showcased his interior passing skills, picking up six assists in the first half. Moore and Holiday, the Pelicans' starting backcourt, combined for 35 first-half points, and Davis added 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Cavaliers shot just 45 percent in the first half. James went 2-of-7 from the field, and even though he had five assists, he committed four turnovers.

NOTES: Using a hardship injury exemption, the Pelicans signed F Josh Smith, who played most recently in China. In 26 games with the Sichuan Blue Whales, Smith averaged 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks. Injuries have sidelined Pelicans centers Alexis Ajinca and Omer Asik and F Solomon Hill. ... Cavs coach Tyronn Lue wasn't biting when asked about major league baseball postponing Houston Astros Yuli Gurriel's suspension until the 2018 regular rather than during the World Series. Golden State's Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, which Cleveland won after falling behind 3-1. "(Green) played in the last two games, didn't he?" Lue asked. "What if Kevin (Love) and Kyrie (Irving) played in Year One (in the 2015 Finals). It could've been different, so, whatever." ... Cleveland PG Derrick Rose has missed four of six games with a sore left ankle.