National Basketball Association
New Orleans 118, Oklahoma City 114
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials: #16 David Guthrie, #73 Tre Maddox, #21 Dedric Taylor
Attendance: 14450

Anthony Davis had his second consecutive 40-plus point game as the host New Orleans Pelicans cooled off the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-114 on Wednesday night.

Davis, who had 41 points in a loss at Boston on Monday, scored a season-high with 44 points and added 18 rebounds as the Pelicans alternated wins and losses for the ninth consecutive game. Julius Randle added 22 points and 12 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 20 points and 10 assists and Darius Miller came off the bench to score 10 points.

Paul George had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Thunder, who had won five of their previous six games. Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 24 points, and Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams had 20 points each.

The Pelicans played without forward E'Twaun Moore, who missed his second consecutive game because of a calf strain, and forward Nikola Mirotic, who missed the second half of a loss at Boston on Monday after aggravating an ankle injury.

New Orleans led 57-56 at halftime, and early in the third quarter the lead changed hands four times and the score was tied three times.

Davis scored three points during a 7-0 run that gave the Pelicans a 74-67 lead.

The Pelicans led 89-84 after the third quarter and increased the lead to 98-89 on a bank shot by Holiday with 9:14 remaining in the game.

Oklahoma City got back-to-back 3-pointers from Terrance Ferguson and Westbrook, but New Orleans answered with a three-point play by Miller and a dunk by Randle.

The Thunder got within 110-105 on George's 3-pointer, but Solomon Hill answered with a basket for New Orleans.

Oklahoma City got within five twice, but Davis answered with a basket both times.

Two turnovers by Holiday led to a layup by Westbrook and a three-point play by George that got the Thunder within 116-114 with 48 seconds left.

After a Davis miss, Oklahoma City had a chance to tie or go ahead, but Westbrook missed a 3-pointer and Randle rebounded and was fouled with 10.1 seconds left.

Randle missed both free throws, the Thunder's Alex Abrines missed a 3-pointer, then Hill made two free throws with 0.4 seconds left to seal it.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   New Orleans
Paul George 25 Scoring Anthony Davis 44
Russell Westbrook 7 Assists Jrue Holiday 10
Paul George 11 Rebounds Anthony Davis 18
Steven Adams 6 Free Throws Made Anthony Davis 11
Russell Westbrook 4 Steals Solomon Hill 3
Russell Westbrook 2 Blocks Anthony Davis 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 114 48.3 13-43 17-27 23 39 6 10 18
New Orleans 118 46.4 4-18 24-30 29 56 3 14 18
Upcoming Games
  • New Orleans will play their next game at home against Miami. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Thunder have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .625 after a loss.