CHICAGO _ David Nwaba finished his third consecutive start much earlier than he would have liked Saturday night.
The Bulls and Pelicans finished their first meeting of the season later than either team would have preferred.
In the end, the Pelicans won 96-90 in overtime and the Bulls lost Nwaba, a second-year guard, to a sprained right ankle.
Nwaba lay face-first on the floor at the United Center, pain painted across his face as he corralled the ankle with his right hand with just more than five minutes left in the third quarter. He managed only to get on his hands and knees before a couple of teammates helped him to the bench after he took a charge from Jameer Nelson.
At first, Nwaba didn't put any pressure on his right leg, but he used it gingerly as he neared the bench.
"It's just important to trust the process," Nwaba said before the game. "Whatever opportunity you get, just take advantage. That's what I did."
And that's what he was doing when he stood firm in front of Nelson, trying to protect what was, at the time, a nine-point lead with 5 minutes, 17 seconds left.
That lead briefly vanished, though, when Nelson found Darius Miller open for a 3-pointer that gave the visitors a 65-64 lead with 9:25 remaining. Lauri Markkanen gave the Bulls the advantage right back with an exclamation mark dunk, his third of the game, with less than nine minutes left.
And back and forth it went, all without Nwaba.
"He really has given us the toughness factor," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said beforehand of Nwaba, who had seven points, four rebounds and two assists in 19:48. "His speed in the open court _ he has been a one-man fast break on several occasions. The best thing he's doing is he has been really good as far as his passing in the paint, small spaces."
He also has guarded the opponent's best player often.
But that assignment went mostly to Markkanen on Saturday.
And the rookie's eardrums grew weary of hearing the name "Anthony Davis" over and again.
Davis, a Chicago native, finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Pelicans (5-5). He was helped by DeMarcus Cousins, who contributed 25 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to deny the Bulls their first two-game winning streak of the season.
And while on Friday, the best things in life for the Bulls were 3s and "D," both were lacking, especially the former, on Saturday.
The Bulls (2-6) missed 16 of their first 19 3-point attempts in the first half, and finished just 11 for 42, a game after shooting 14 for 29 from behind the 3-point line during a victory against the Magic.
Markkanen, who was tasked with trying to slow down Davis, made the Bulls' 10th 3-pointer with less than three minutes left to pull them within one before Denzel Valentine followed soon after with No. 11 to put them ahead 83-81 and wake up the United Center.
But Davis quieted the crowd and tied the score with his 24th and 25th points, which came courtesy of an alley-oop from Jrue Holiday with 1:30 left.
The Bulls followed with a shot clock violation before Jerian Grant stole the ball on the other end and passed to Robin Lopez under the Bulls basket. Lopez whiffed on a layup and put-back attempt.
Who else but Davis was there to snag the rebound before he and Grant exchanged words with 9.7 seconds left.
The Bulls' final chance in regulation ended when Lopez turned over Grant's inbounds pass as the clock struck 0:00.
"They have a bunch of guys who are going to play hard," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "They're going to compete at the highest level. When they're knocking down 3-point shots they're a tough team to beat."
And, apparently, even when they're not.
Five Bulls finished in double figures, led by Justin Holiday's 18 to go with a team-high tying nine rebounds. Valentine had 16 points and six rebounds while Grant scored 14 to go with nine assists and eight rebounds.
