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Evans helps Pelicans snap skid in Sacramento

Dec 24, 2013 - 7:27 AM Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - In his return to Sacramento, Tyreke Evans had 25 points and 12 assists -- both season-highs -- and the New Orleans Pelicans salvaged the final game of their five-game road trip with a 113-100 win over the Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

Anthony Davis scored 21 points with 11 rebounds and Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday each chipped in with 17 points.

DeMarcus Cousins registered a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Kings have lost four of their last five tilts.

Isaiah Thomas tallied 21 points and Marcus Thornton netted 19 off the bench in the setback.

"I just wanted to go out there and play hard," said Evans. "We had a long road trip and I wanted to be aggressive and be able to push it up court."

New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak in Sacramento with the win and finished its road trip with a 1-4 record.

Both teams were tied at 77 heading into the final quarter and no team led by more than three in the fourth until the Pelicans opened it up late. Jimmer Fredette knotted the game at 92 with a jumper just past the midway point in the frame, but New Orleans proceeded to run off seven straight and wouldn't look back.

Holiday started the spurt with a 3-pointer and Alexis Ajinca made consecutive dunks for a 99-92 lead with 4:14 to play.

The Pelicans' lead remained seven before Ryan Anderson hit a corner 3 at the 3:22 mark, which was the first time in the contest any team led by double digits.

New Orleans pushed the lead to as many as 16 in the closing moments as the Kings went cold, making only one field goal in the final 5:34.

"We're just not dialed in," said Thomas. "A couple plays we might be dialed in and focused, we're just a young team and it's attention span I guess."

The Pelicans jumped out to a 9-2 lead following a Holiday trey just under three minutes into the game. Sacramento answered with a 9-2 run of its own after consecutive buckets from Cousins to tie the game at 11 midway through the stanza.

New Orleans, however, brought a slim, 28-27 lead into the second quarter.

The Kings led by six, their largest lead of the game, late in the second, but the Pelicans used an 8-2 run in the final 2:31 to knot the score a 52 apiece at the break.

Game Notes

There were 18 lead changes and 17 ties ... Rudy Gay scored 11 points on a feeble 2-for-12 effort from the floor ... New Orleans shot 23-of-27 (85.2 percent) from the charity stripe ... Ajinca finished with six points in 14 minutes of action ... Sacramento committed 22 turnovers compared to 16 for New Orleans.