SAN ANTONIO – Anthony Davis had the game-winning basket, finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans held on for a 100-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
San Antonio went on a 15-4 run with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan on the bench to take a 99-98 lead. Danny Green capped the run with three free throws with 12 seconds remaining after he was fouled by Eric Gordon on a wild 3-point attempt as the shot clock was about to expire.
Davis then drove past Aron Baynes for a layup with 6.6 seconds left to seal the win. Kawhi Leonard missed a pair of shots in the final seconds, snapping the Spurs’ five-game winning streak over the Pelicans.
Tyreke Evans had 18 points, including buzzer-beating shots in the second and third quarters, and Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 11 assists.
Parker scored 28 points, Manu Ginobili added 17 points, Green had 16 and Duncan had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
It was a narrow escape for what seemed like it would be a dominant victory by New Orleans (3-2) over San Antonio (2-3).
Even when the Spurs did well defensively, blocking a layup by Holiday or forcing a miss by Evans on a fastbreak, the Pelicans’ hustled to gather the shots in midair and score.
Holiday came out of nowhere to block Leonard on what looked like an uncontested layup off a bullet pass from Ginobili. Evans hustled over to help defensively and catch Parker coming out of a spin to the basket, forcing the Spurs point guard to throw the ball out wildly into Davis’ arms for the team’s 17th turnover.
San Antonio had 19 turnovers and played lax defense.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich slammed the scorer’s table in frustration after Evans raced down the court untouched in the final seven seconds of the first half for a layup as time expired.
TIP-INS
The Spurs: Duncan had his 800th career double-double, the most among active players, placing him 14 behind Karl Malone for fifth. . San Antonio wore camouflage short-sleeve jerseys in honor of its Military Appreciation Night.
The Pelicans: Davis has led or shared the lead in both scoring and rebounding in every game except for the team’s Nov. 3 loss at Memphis. . Davis entered leading the league in rebounding at 13.3 per game and Asik was sixth at 11.3. . Evans (right hamstring), Asik (sprained right ankle) and Holiday (right tibia stress fracture) were all listed as probable but each played 26-plus minutes.
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