After injury scare, Anthony Davis scores 41 in hard-fought win over Clippers
New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis left Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers after taking a hit to the side from Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan.
In the second quarter, Davis was banging down low for position with Jordan after his teammate, Jrue Holiday, put up a shot. And when the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Jordan went to box Davis out, he turned with his hip right into Davis’ side. Davis immediately showed signs of discomfort after the collision.
Fortunately for Pelicans fans, X-rays showed Davis suffered just a rib contusion.
Anthony Davis (rib contusion)
X-rays were negative. He's getting padded and will attempt to return to the game
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 7, 2018
It looked much worse.
Following the collision with Jordan, Davis struggled his way up the court after the Pelicans regained possession, prompting a timeout from head coach Alvin Gentry. From there, Davis immediately retreated toward the visiting locker room — but he couldn’t make it all the way there. He doubled over in pain and laid down on a training table in the hallway of the Staples Center.
New Orleans fans had have been to be holding their breath for Davis, who has a fairly lengthy injury history. That is especially true after DeMarcus Cousins, an All-Star selection for New Orleans alongside Davis, was lost for the season last month after suffering an Achilles tendon injury.
Once he returned to the floor in the second half, Davis showed no signs of being slowed by the rib injury. He had 10 points and four boards when he left the game but ended up finishing the night with 41 points (one shy of his point total following his last injury scare), 13 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Here’s a small taste:
Geez, AD… pic.twitter.com/xo2rPVfC5F
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 7, 2018
TOUGH pic.twitter.com/MyH12pXzLw
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 7, 2018
@AntDavis23 has 39 and the @PelicansNBA are up 2! pic.twitter.com/7xNysjlbyS
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 7, 2018
New Orleans led 67-52 at halftime, but the Clippers stormed back and took the lead late in the fourth. But that lead evaporated at the hands of Davis, who hit three straight shots to flip a 113-109 deficit into a 115-113 lead with 31 seconds remaining.
Despite the best efforts of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, who finished with 27 and 26 points respectively off the Clippers bench, the Pelicans closed out a 121-116 victory thanks to six clutch free throws — four from Ian Clark and two from Davis.
The win is the ninth straight for New Orleans, who improved to 37-26 to remain at the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference standings.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
