Los Angeles Lakers' Ed Davis and New Orleans Pelicans' Omer Asik fight for a reboundDanny Moloshok/The Associated Press
Anthony Davis scored 23 points, Jrue Holiday had 22 points and eight assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Lakers 104-87 on Sunday night.
Ryan Anderson had 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, helping the Pelicans end a four-game road losing streak that included a 27-point drubbing by the Warriors on Thursday and a 20-point loss to the Clippers on Saturday night.
Kobe Bryant had 14 points in 31 minutes for the Lakers (5-16). He and Davis entered Sunday 1-2 in the league in scoring average at 25.8 points and 25.3, respectively.
With his team allowing an average of 111.2 points entering Sunday, first-year Lakers coach Byron Scott inserted power forward Ed Davis and point guard Ronnie Price into his starting unit while Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin came off the bench.
That ended Boozer's streak of 588 straight games as a starter. The 13-year veteran and two-time All-Star had 12 points and six rebounds over 23 minutes in his first game as a reserve since March 14, 2006, with Utah at Miami.
Lin played 20 minutes, finishing with three points and four assists. The five-year veteran started all 82 games in 2012-13 with Houston, but came off the bench in 44 of his 71 games with the Rockets last season before the Lakers acquired him on July 15.
Holiday's 12 points paced New Orleans to a 50-40 halftime lead. Nick Young, who was so upset following the Lakers' 113-96 loss at Boston on Friday night that he walked away from a TV interview at his locker after just 15 seconds, missed his first six shots against the Pelicans before hitting a 3-pointer that trimmed the Lakers' deficit to 63-57 with 4:28 left in the third.
Reserve Gal Mekel, playing his second game with the Pelicans, gave them their biggest lead at 83-59 on a fast-break layup 46 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Lakers closed to 83-71 with a 12-0 run ignited by 3-pointers from Young and Wayne Ellington and capped by Young's two free throws with 8:54 to play.
But that was as close as they got, as Anthony Davis helped put it away with two layups, a dunk and a 21-footer that gave New Orleans a 100-81 cushion with 2:54 left.
GRIZZLIES 103, HEAT 87
MEMPHIS – Jon Leuer scored a season-high 20 points and matched his career best with 12 rebounds, leading the Grizzlies to the win.
Mike Conley added 18 points for Memphis, connecting on all eight of his shots, and Zach Randolph and Courtney Lee finished with 17 points apiece. Memphis went 8 for 13 from 3-point range and shot 59 per cent from the field overall.
Dwyane Wade scored 25 points in Miami's fourth straight loss. Josh McRoberts added 14 points.
HAWKS 96, NUGGETS 84
ATLANTA – Paul Millsap scored 23 points, Kyle Korver had 15 and Atlanta earned its sixth straight win.
The Hawks got off to a fast start, bolting to a 57-36 halftime lead.
Al Horford and DeMarre Carroll each had 11 points and combined for 17 Atlanta rebounds.
Wilson Chandler finished with a season-high 29 points for the Nuggets, and Timofey Mozgov had 14 points. Chandler and Mozgov combined for 21 rebounds.
Denver began the season with a win over Detroit before losing seven of eight. A Nov. 17 victory at Cleveland started a 7-1 stretch, but the Nuggets have dropped their last three.
CELTICS 101, WIZARDS 93
BOSTON – Jeff Green scored 25 points for Boston, and reserve Marcus Thornton had 21.
Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the Celtics, who won their third straight after a season-high five-game losing streak.
Rasual Butler scored 14 of his 22 points in the final quarter for the Wizards (13-6), who failed to match the franchise's best start since 1968-69.
Paul Pierce, who played for the Celtics for 15 seasons and was a member of their 2008 championship team before being traded to Brooklyn prior to last season, scored 16 points for Washington.
Wizards star John Wall had 17 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds.
MAVERICKS 125, BUCKS 102
DALLAS – Chandler Parsons scored 28 points, helping Dallas roll to the win.
The Mavericks built a big lead with a 12-0 run in the first quarter and didn't trail again in their second victory in five days over the Bucks. Parsons had nine in the opening period.
Dirk Nowitzki, who was rested for the game at Milwaukee on Wednesday and scored a season-low 10 points Friday, bounced back with 21 and Monta Ellis added 19.
All five Bucks starters scored in double figures, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 18 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS 103, KNICKS 99
NEW YORK – LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and Portland regrouped after blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, recording its fourth straight victory.
Carmelo Anthony had 23 points, but the Knicks lost their eighth straight and 12th in their last 13. J.R. Smith scored 20 points and Amare Stoudemire added 16 for New York, whose 4-18 start is a franchise worst.
The Trail Blazers have won five straight games over New York.
Wesley Matthews had 17 points for the Trail Blazers, who led 89-79 with 8:04 left in the fourth before New York stormed back with a 16-5 run.
THUNDER 96, PISTONS 84
AUBURN HILLS – Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook added 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat lowly Detroit.
The Pistons have lost 12 straight, two short of the franchise record. Detroit's last win came on Nov. 14 in overtime at Oklahoma City, a game that both Durant and Westbrook missed due to injury.
Serge Ibaka added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Detroit with 19 points.