NEW ORLEANS _ Denzel Valentine missed a 3-pointer, and by the time the ball came off the rim, Anthony Davis practically had completed a 40-yard dash.
Davis peeled out, received a baseball pass from DeMarcus Cousins and slammed one down.
Looked easy. Too easy, actually.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg had warned his players before Monday night's game about Davis' run-out ability, but it's tough to replicate that in practice. Or stop it in a game.
Davis and fellow big man Cousins had huge nights for the Pelicans, combining for 78 points and 33 rebounds, and the Pelicans rallied from 18 down in the fourth quarter for a 132-128 victory in double overtime.
The score after three quarters was this: Bulls 82, Pelicans 81.
Next thing you knew, it was 101-86 Bulls.
Things not only got interesting in the fourth quarter; they also got testy.
By all appearances Jameer Nelson was fouled on a drive-and-dish. It was not called, and the Smoothie King Center crowd howled.
Next time down, Nikola Mirotic pump-faked at the 3-point line and Nelson slammed into him, knocking him down. Nelson immediately helped him up but it couldn't save him from receiving a technical foul.
Cousins got a fan ejected with two minutes to play. The fan, wearing a red sweater, was in the front row under the Pelicans basket.
He missed a thrilling finish, as the Pelicans rallied to force overtime.
The Pelicans went on a 21-2 run, completed by a monster Davis alley-oop slam, to take a 112-110 lead. Lauri Markkanen tied it with a layup with 15.4 seconds to play. Davis was fouled on a drive with 3.2 seconds left and made both free throws.
Justin Holiday launched a 3-pointer at the buzzer in traffic, and a foul was called. Down two with 0.3 seconds left, Holiday swished the first. And the second. But the third rimmed out. Overtime.
The Pelicans could have won it in overtime but Ian Clark fired an airball from 3.
Cousins hit two key free throws in the second overtime and finished with 44 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists.
How gargantuan were those numbers? It was the NBA's first 40-20-10 game since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1968.
Jerian Grant and Robin Lopez led the Bulls with 22 points apiece.
Markkanen grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to go with 14 points.
The Bulls fell to 15-9 since their 3-20 start and next take on the 76ers Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Davis entered fourth in the NBA in scoring, at 26.5 per game, down from his career high of 28.0 from last season. But his efficiency is at an all-time high; he's shooting a career-best 55.8 percent and 34.7 on 3s, making almost one per game.
"He is such a versatile front-line player," Hoiberg said of the Chicago native. "He gets out in transition for easy baskets, so you really have to try to limit those.
"The way his game has evolved is his ability to shoot from the outside, not just the mid-range. Shooting 3s. He's such a tough cover because he can hurt you from any spot on the floor."
Markkanen found that out first-hand as Davis abused him down the stretch in regulation, scoring on a slam and then laying home a lob pass. Davis fouled out in overtime after a 34-point, nine-rebound night.
