NEW ORLEANS _ Last season, the Nets endured a soul-shattering 1-27 stretch in which their only victory was a remarkable road win in New Orleans.
So, when they arrived in the Crescent City in the midst of a 1-6 span and then cut a 33-point third-quarter deficit to 14 early in the fourth quarter at the end of a 19-0 run, it was fair to wonder if they had another miracle in them.
But reality hit hard as soon as Pelicans big men Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins returned to the game after coach Alvin Gentry had cleared his bench earlier. Davis scored six points in a 15-3 run as the Pelicans converted on seven straight possessions on their way to a 128-113 victory over the Nets Wednesday night at Smoothie King Center.
Late in the third quarter, the Nets trailed 91-58 after a 3-pointer by Cousins had Gentry calling for the guys at the end of his bench. But Caris LeVert had eight of his 22 points and Nik Stauskas added six of his 21 points (including 7 of 10 shooting from 3-point range) in the Nets' 19-0 run. It saved the Nets (12-22) some embarrassment, but their slump extended to 1-7.
The Nets also got strong games from Quincy Acy (18 points) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (15), but their defense broke down as they allowed the Pelicans (18-16) to shoot 53.3 percent for the game and 51.5 percent from 3-point range (17 of 33).
Davis totaled 33 points and 11 rebounds while Cousins had 27 points and 14 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had an incredible 25 assists on all the easy buckets, Jrue Holiday added 23 points and E'Twaun Moore dropped in 20 points.
One of the brightest spots in the Nets' loss to the Spurs on Tuesday night in San Antonio was rookie center Jarrett Allen, who scored 12 points and had nine rebounds while playing just down the road from his family home in Austin, where he attended the University of Texas.
But as tough as it might have been to go against veteran Spurs big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol, Allen faced a more physical challenge Wednesday night against Cousins and Davis, who were averaging a combined 51.0 points and 22.5 rebounds for the Pelicans.
"I've just got to bring the same energy," Allen said after the Spurs game. "I know it's going to be a back-to-back, it's going to be tough. But I think we can do it."
Allen said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson never really sat him down to talk about playing with greater energy, but he got the message in a subliminal way. "That's been my mentality," Allen said. "I've tried to be more of an energy man recently. I figured if I do that more, I could play more."
In fact, the Pelicans played a superb first half, building a 69-46 lead while shooting 55.8 percent overall and 61.1 percent from 3-point range. As bad as the Nets struggled in the first quarter, it was much worse in the second when they yielded 38 points.
Allen started the second quarter, missed two tentative shot attempts against Davis, got beaten badly on a Davis layup and then gave up a Davis 3-pointer before being replaced by Timofey Mozgov. As if to show it could happen to anyone, Davis drilled a 20-footer over Mozgov then drew a foul and made both shots.
When the Pelicans' lead reached 33 points in the third quarter, it seemed the Nets were headed for their worst loss of the season, but they salvaged a measure of respect.
