NEW ORLEANS _ Another day, another Nets blowout. But there was a major twist to what was becoming a tired story Friday night at Smoothie King Arena.
After 11 straight losses and 16 defeats in their previous 17 games, all the Nets' mounting frustrations were released over the course of their 143-114 victory over the Pelicans. Amazingly, they scored a season high without two of their top five scorers when coach Kenny Atkinson announced he was resting starting power forward Trevor Booker and reserve guard Sean Kilpatrick, the Nets' second-leading scorer.
Brook Lopez led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 points and six rebounds. But the real key to the victory was an outstanding performance by the Nets' bench, which scored a season-high 73 points compared with 47 by the Pelicans' reserves.
Rookie first-round pick Caris LeVert had a superb game with 17 points shooting 6-for-6, including three 3-pointers, plus five rebounds and six assists; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 12 points and seven rebounds; Quincy Acy, starting his second 10-day contract, had 12 points and seven rebounds, and veteran Randy Foye scored 11, including four 3-pointers. The Nets shot 57.8 percent from the field and hit 15 of 30 3-pointers.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 22 points and nine rebounds but was held scoreless in the seven second-half minutes he played. The third quarter has been a Nets nightmare much of this season, but they came out of the locker room and put together a 10-2 run to build a 76-56 lead. The Pelicans cut it to 16 once, but the Nets responded with another 10-2 surge by the bench for a 100-76 lead, and they just kept going from there, leading by a high of 33 points in the fourth quarter.
The 6-10 Davis, who is a first-team Western Conference All-Star, figured to present a formidable problem for the Nets even though they started 7-footer Justin Hamilton in Booker's place alongside 7-foot center Lopez.
Davis joined Golden State guard Steph Curry, Houston guard James Harden along with forwards Kevin Durant of Golden State and Kawhi Leonard of San Antonio as starters on the West All-Star team. Notably, Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook, an MVP candidate who is averaging a triple-double, was left off the first team for the game, which will take place in New Orleans.
"If we didn't get off to such a bad start, I think you would be hearing a lot of conversation about (Davis) for MVP with the type of year he's put together," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said before the game. "He's done everything possible when you think about 30-point, 15-rebound games and 40-point, 15-rebound games. He's done it all for us.
"On the defensive end, he's been so dominant as far as blocking shots. His rebounding has been great for us. So, I'm just happy for him. He loves this city, so, to be able to play in the home town in the All-Star Game is very important to him."
Davis certainly was a dominant first-half presence for the Pelicans with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. But they trailed by virtue of an extended Nets run of 34-12 from the first quarter into the mid-second when they gained a 55-42 lead. The Nets had six 3s or three-point plays during that span with Bogdanovic and Acy each contributing seven points. They began the second half with a 12-point lead after a 37-point second quarter that was their highest-scoring of the season in that period.
