NBA Wrap: Anthony Davis injured in Pelicans’ loss to Chicago, Wizards smash Nets

AFTER Pelicans star Anthony Davis was injured on a hard fall, the Bulls pulled away for a big victory over New Orleans. Check out all the NBA action.

Anthony Davis, Pau Gasol

AFTER Pelicans star Anthony Davis was injured on a hard fall, the Bulls pulled away for a big victory over New Orleans. Check out all the NBA action.

AUSSIES IN ACTION

Andrew Bogut had a strong 18 minutes on court in Golden State’s win over the Knicks, scoring seven points to go with his seven rebounds. The Warriors big man also chipped in with three assists and two blocks.

Dante Exum delivered on his recent pledge to show more aggression in a solid all-round outing during the Utah Jazz’s 102-90 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Exum clocked up five points on two-from-five shooting as well as four assists, two steals and two rebounds in 33:57 minutes, his second longest stint in the court.

I either just saw a unicorn, or I just saw Dante Exum score in the paint followed by a perfectly-executed Jazz 3-on-2 fast break.

— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) February 8, 2015

Joe Ingles missed the game with lower back spasms.

Cameron Bairstow received some rare court time for Chicago in the closing stages of the Bulls’ 107-72 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Bairstow missed his only shot at field goal.

Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, right, battles for a rebound with Bulls forward Pau Gasol.

BULLS 107, PELICANS 72

AFTER Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis hurt his right shoulder on a hard, awkward fall on an alley-oop dunk, Pau Gasol and the Chicago Bulls pulled away for a 107-72 victory over New Orleans.

Gasol had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago, which snapped a three-game skid. Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Bulls, who went on a 40-11 run after Davis went out.

The dunk that drove Davis from the game was a two-handed jam of Tyreke Evans’ lob. Davis’ body swung like a pendulum as he held the rim, then the 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward fell horizontally as he lost his grip.

Davis stayed in the game briefly before taking himself out with the score tied at 35 and 4:16 left in the first half.

Tony Snell scored 19 points and Jimmy Butler 18 for Chicago.

Evans had 15 points for New Orleans, while Alexis Ajinca scored 10.

With Davis in the locker room, Chicago closed the first half on a 13-4 run that included two 18-foot jumpers by Gasol, Rose’s 3 and Gibson’s put back dunk that made it 48-39.

The Bulls then blew the game open by starting the third quarter on a 27-7 run that included 3s by Snell and Gasol.

Butler’s dunk put Chicago ahead 75-46 with 3:56 left in the period. The Pelicans never got as close as 20 after that and trailed by as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter.

After missing shots often early, the Bulls wound up shooting 51.2 per cent (43 of 84), including 10 of 22 from 3-point range. New Orleans shot only 37.2 per cent (32 of 86) and was 4 of 17 from deep. Chicago also outrebounded New Orleans 45-38.

Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) shoots over Pelicans forward Anthony Davis.

Stephen Curry failed to reach his lofty heights against the Knicks.

WARRIORS 106, KNICKS 92

Draymond Green had 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 106-92 on Saturday to give Steve Kerr a win in his first game coaching in the arena he nearly called home.

Stephen Curry scored 19 points and Klay Thompson had 16 on a night neither shot well. But the Warriors have plenty of weapons even when their All-Stars struggle.

Langston Galloway scored 15 points for the Knicks, who gave Carmelo Anthony a night off and lost their third straight. The All-Star forward who has dealt with a sore left knee much of the season rested on the second night of back-to-back games.

The Knicks trailed by as much as 26 without him, but cut it to five in the fourth quarter before Curry made a couple of 3-pointers down the stretch.

Golden State improved to 40-9, tops in the Western Conference, while the Knicks fell to 10-41.

The Warriors, coming off a 124-116 loss at NBA-leading Atlanta on Friday, led 32-19 after one even though Curry and Thompson missed 10 of their 12 shots. It was 64-48 at half-time and what seemed like an easy night when Thompson’s jumper made it 89-63 with 3:08 left in the third.

But the lead was down to 95-90 after Shane Larkin’s steal and layup with a little more than 4 minutes remaining. The Warriors then scored six straight, with Curry’s 3-pointer making it 101-90 with 2:52 to play.

Curry had a career-best 54 points here two years ago and a triple-double last year, but had no assists and couldn’t get the crowd buzzing much Saturday. Nor could Thompson, who shot 5 for 22.

Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki shoots over the top of Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard.

MAVERICKS 111, BLAZERS 101, OT

Dirk Nowitzki capped a late rally with a 3-pointer that forced overtime and finished with 25 points, and Chandler Parsons scored 10 of his 20 in the extra period for Dallas.

The Trail Blazers lost their seventh straight road game by blowing an 11-point lead in the last 2 minutes of regulation. Nowitzki’s high-arching swish from the top of the key with 20 seconds left finished a 7-0 run for a 96-all tie.

The Mavericks scored the first nine points of overtime as part of a 22-2 run. Parsons started overtime with two free throws and pumped his fist after a fadeaway jumper that put Dallas ahead by 10.

Damian Lillard scored 26 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 for the Blazers.

76ers' Robert Covington watches his shot fall into the basket.

76ERS 89, HORNETS 81

Robert Covington scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in a pivotal third quarter, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-81 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

It Philadelphia’s fourth straight home victory after opening the season 3-18 on its home floor. The last time the 76ers won four in a row at home was on March 30, 2013, when they defeated the then Charlotte Bobcats.

Hollis Thompson added 18 points for Philadelphia, which next plays Monday against Pacific Division-leading Golden State.

Al Jefferson had 18 points and Gerald Henderson 17 for Charlotte, which lost for just the fourth time in 16 games.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist did not return after leaving with a right hamstring strain with 5:24 left in the first half.

Michael Carter-Williams missed his second straight game with a right toe injury, and Philadelphia earned its first win in 11 games without its starting point guard in the line-up. Carter-Williams’ injury pressed Tim Frazier into the starting line-up. Frazier, signed to a 10-day contract on Thursday, had 11 assists in his NBA debut in Philadelphia’s 107-96 loss at Boston on Friday.

After a slow start, Frazier finished with eight assists while going scoreless.

Philadelphia pulled ahead with a big third quarter, outscoring the Hornets by 15 points to take a 70-61 lead. Charlotte went just 3 for 17 from the field in the period.

The 76ers, who trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, took their first lead since early in the game on Luc Mbah a Moute’s layup that made it 53-52 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third. And then Philadelphia got hot, scoring 14 of the next 19 points, capped by Jerami Grant’s layup with 2:01 left in the period, to take their largest lead at 70-57. The Hornets scored the last four points of the quarter to enter the final period down nine.

Charlotte never got closer than five in the final quarter.

Gordon Hayward had a big game for the Jazz, scoring 30 points.

JAZZ 102, KINGS 90

Gordon Hayward scored 30 points in Utah’s victory over Sacramento.

Derrick Favors finished with 20 points for the Jazz and Enes Kanter had 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Jazz had lost five of six and were playing their fourth game in five days.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 27 points and 10 rebounds.

Bucks guard Brandon Knight goes up for a basket against the Celtics defence.

BUCKS 96, CELTICS 93

Brandon Knight scored 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 14 points and 11 rebounds to help Milwaukee beat Boston for its sixth win in seven games.

Jared Sullinger had 17 points and Marcus Smart added 13 for Boston.

Wizards’ John Wall dunks the ball in front of Alan Anderson of the Nets.

WIZARDS 114, NETS 77

John Wall scored 17 points, Rasual Butler had 15 and the Washington Wizards broke a five-game skid, coasting to a 114-77 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.

Playing without starting guard Bradley Beal, who sat out with an injured right big toe, Washington led throughout. The 37-point margin of victory was its largest of the season.

The Nets, who had won three straight, were led by Brook Lopez with 19.

Wizards coach Randy Wittman implored his team to start aggressively.

Brooklyn’s Mason Plumlee, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets look dejected on the bench.

Originally published as NBA Wrap: Anthony Davis injured in Pelicans’ loss to Chicago, Wizards smash Nets