Buzzer-Beater! Davis and Pelicans Storm Thunder 106-103

By Spencer Darr | Feb 7, 2015

“That’s my first three of the year.”

Good timing for Anthony Davis, who drilled a double-clutch three over two defenders as time expired – crushing the hopes and dreams of 18,000 fanatic Thunder fans, and giving the New Orleans Pelicans a crucial 106-103 victory to keep them in the hunt for the 8thn and final Playoff spot in the Western Conference.

After Davis hit 2/2 FTs to extend the Pelicans lead to 103-100, the Thunder had 2.8 seconds to tie the game and force overtime. Russell Westbrook threw up a prayer, which was answered by Quincy Poindexter – foul on a 3-pointer.

Westbrook effortlessly converted all 3 FTs (48 pts 15/15 FT) to tie the game 103-103, leaving the Pelicans with one timeout and 1.2 seconds to win.

Tyreke Evans struggled to find an open Pelican, then a streaking Davis flashed up to the top of the key, juggled the inbound pass, and launched – Kevin Durant leapt and faded, Perry Jones passed underneath, but Davis just hung there – clutching the shot back as Durant’s hand passed, then launching a perfect arc that soared straight into the back of the net.

New Orleans wins the grudge match – 106-103 in Oklahoma City.

“You wanna be good, or you wanna be great? I told my teammates, ‘we just gotta decide what we want to do.’ Tonight we decided to be great.” Davis told Fox after the big shot.

The road has not been kind to the Pelicans this season (10-16) but the team did not come to Oklahoma City expecting to lose: “You wanna be good, or you wanna be great? I told my teammates, ‘we just gotta decide what we want to do.’ Tonight we decided to be great.” Davis told Fox after the big shot.

Feb 6, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Always one to lead by example (41 pts 10 reb 3 ast 2 blk) , Davis is leading a team that is starting to take on an intention and focus that has them looking like a legitimate playoff candidate.

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Tyreke Evans is a big part of the Pelican’s campaign, and for most of the night played far better than his rough Wednesday performance vs OKC (5/20 FGs). Tonight he finished with his first triple double of the season: 22 pts 16 ast 10 rebounds.

Feb 6, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) attempts a shot against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Never one to let a good thing last, Evans was nearly responsible for a Pelicans loss at the end of night. An airball, wasted timeout, and last-minute pass to the wrong team – an act that caused me to physically scream.

Monty Williams did not bench Evans, however. Instead, Monty gave him the ball for the final inbounds pass. With no timeouts remaining, Evans held the ball until it was uncomfortably close to five seconds – a penalty that would’ve given the Thunder the ball with 1.2 seconds.

Fate felt otherwise, and Evans managed to complete a pass to Anthony Davis, (“crusher of dreams”), who caught Evan’s missile-pass, before lobbing in a grenade of his own. With the 8-seed on the line this game felt like a playoff matchup, and is probably the best contest I’ve seen this year.

That’s because the Thunder, a pre-season finals contender, wanted the game just as bad as New Orleans. Westbrook followed up a career-high 45 pts on Wednesday with a new career-high 48 pts on 15/28 FGs 15/15 FTs. He was absolutely ferocious, literally screaming (“Take it to the house!”) as he cut into the paint and pasted off-the-dribble jumpers.

Feb 6, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) is fouled on a 3 point shot by New Orleans Pelicans guard Quincy Pondexter (20) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

He also dominated defensively, taking Eric Gordon out of the game ( 8 pts 3/9 FGs), and generally causing havoc (9 reb 4 stl). Toss in 11 assists to round out the box score.

Kevin Durant was rusty coming off a three game layoff (9/26 FGs) but still managed 27 pts and a series of devastating shots the final few minutes of the game.

Supporting Evans and Davis offensively for New Orleans was a 36 pt performance by the bench. Ryan Anderson flashed some impressive variations in his post-up game.

He consistently hits an 18 ft turn-around jumper off post-ups, but tonight worked in a series of fakes – one move drawing the crucial 6th foul on Serge Ibaka with 3:01 remaining in the 4th.

This was a critical play for the Pels. OKC subbed in Anthony Morrow to go small, opening up the paints for layups and rebounds. New Orleans immediately capitalized with an Evans layup and a Davis dream-crushing dunk.

Poindexter was effective offensively (15 pts 3/5 3FG), but his defensive focus has to improve. It is hard to keep him on the floor down the stretch if he is going to make massive mistakes like the Westbrook foul.

Anthony Davis is slowly starting to collect those moments that earn MVP trophies. A lot of that can be attributed to his increasingly deadly shot. Grantland’s Kirk Goldsberry took an in-depth look at the development of Davis’s shot from his rookie year to now. Seeing the growth laid out so plainly is staggering (Reminder: Davis is 21).

Feb 6, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

This refined form is the reason he can hit shots like this. While the final three was stunning, the Pelicans were in the game down the stretch because of Davis’s diligence in getting to the rim. He unleashed a variety of dunks, putbacks, and alley-oops – just two nights after barely touching the paint.

Defensively, New Orleans beefed up their paint presence as well, cutting the points allowed in the paint from 66 to 50 and offensive rebounds allowed from 18 to 10.

With the toughest part of their schedule behind them, the Pelicans need to maintain their focus on greatness.

The Suns and Thunder won’t stop winning if they stay healthy and it will be a race to keep pace from now until April.

Tomorrow night the Pelicans play the Chicago Bulls, followed by Utah and Indiana at home.

Keep checking in with the Big Easy Believer for game updates, all-star game, and trade deadline coverage.

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