Anthony Davis feasts again on Pistons in 118-103 Pelicans win

After dropping five out of six games since the loss of DeMarcus Cousins, the New Orleans Pelicans have won two in a row. The Pelicans finished their three-game road with a 118-103 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Anthony Davis led the way with a game-high 38 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Jrue Holiday added 21 points and 12 assists, and Nikola Mirotić picked up a double-double with 21 points and 12 boards.

Blake Griffin had a team-high 22 points for the Pistons, who lost their third game in a row.

The win gave the New Orleans a sweep of the season series between the teams and kept the Pels a half-game ahead of the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference playoff race.

Davis continued his dominance over Detroit. In two games this season, he’s averaging 34 points per contest in under 32 minutes of action while shooting better than 68 percent from the floor.

AD scored 59 points, still his career-high, against the Pistons in 2015, and his career average of 30.4 points per game against Detroit is his highest against any team.

He isn’t the only one doing well against the Pistons. Monday night’s win was the 11th for the Pelicans in the last 12 meetings between the two squads.

The Pelicans got off to another fast start, taking a 60-52 lead after two quarters.

But unlike so many other games this season, New Orleans avoided the third quarter blues that have plagued them.

The Pels outscored Detroit 35-28 in the period, with Davis scoring 10. While the Pistons were able to make 6-of-12 three pointers, the Pelicans only allowed Detroit to shoot 2-for-12 inside the arc.

With the lead at 15 heading into the fourth, the Pelicans were able to get Davis and Holiday some much needed rest. AD finished the game with 36 minutes played, while Holiday played 30.

It was also the Pelicans’ 30th win of the season. They reached that total in 56 games. It took New Orleans 71 games last season to hit that mark and 79 games in the 2015-16 season, and a game ahead of the pace of the 2014-15 playoff team.

New Orleans will attempt to extend their win streak to three games on Wednesday night when they face the Los Angeles Lakers at the Smoothie King Center.