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Davis helps Pelicans edge Grizzlies

Jan 21, 2014 - 4:45 AM Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Davis had 20 of his 27 points in the second half to go along with 10 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 95-92, on Monday.

Marc Gasol split a pair of free throws with 29.9 seconds remaining to pull the Grizzlies within 95-92. Memphis elected to play out the ensuing Pelicans possession instead of fouling. Brian Roberts missed a jumper with the shot clock running down, but Eric Gordon pulled down the offensive rebound to seal the outcome.

Tyreke Evans netted 11 of his 15 points in the fourth for the Pelicans, who snapped an eight-game slide.

"You can't get wins like this if you don't have big-time character and tough guys in your locker room," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "The way we battled tonight says a lot about our assistant coaches and those guys. They just rally around each other."

Zach Randolph tallied 23 points and 20 rebounds for Memphis, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

"We are not going to play better until we play harder. We have to play harder, we have to run harder, we have to screen harder and we have to defend harder from the first minute of the game," said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger. "We cannot try and wait until there are five or six minutes left in the game and try to go like crazy."

Gordon netted seven quick points as New Orleans raced out to a 19-10 lead before settling for a 25-20 edge after a quarter of play.

A 12-2 Memphis run tied the game at 38-38 in the second, but Roberts' 3- pointer late in the half staked the Pelicans a 41-40 edge heading into the locker room.

Randolph registered 17 points in the third as Memphis led 69-68 going into the final frame.

The game was tied at 76-76 before Evans put in five points during a 9-0 flurry, including a pair of free throws to cap it and give New Orleans an 85-76 lead midway through the fourth.

A bit later, back-to-back Gasol buckets finished off a 7-0 Memphis swing to cut the gap to 87-85. But consecutive baskets by Davis and Evans extended the margin back to 91-85 with 2:05 to play.

Four straight foul shots by Courtney Lee and Mike Conley whittled the deficit to 91-89 with 1:30 to go. After Evans and Lee traded runners, Davis' right baseline jumper extended the gap to 95-91 with 35.6 ticks on the clock.

Game Notes

Roberts had 13 points, while Gordon added 12 ... Lee scored 19 points ... The Pelicans shot 45.5 percent (35-of-77) from the floor, while Memphis shot 41.9 percent (31-of-74) from the field.