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Cleveland Blocks: Davis leads Pelicans past Cavs

Jan 29, 2014 - 4:39 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Antony Davis had 30 points, seven rebounds and eight blocked shots to help the New Orleans Pelicans to a 100-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Eric Gordon added 20 points and nine assists, while Brian Roberts and Al- Farouq Aminu finished with 12 points apiece for the Pelicans, winners in three straight.

"We put a lot of things together. We played good, solid defense. We were making good plays and we were all attacking the rim. We just made good plays without turning over the ball," said Gordon. "It feels good. It shows that we're getting better and improving."

Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 23 points, Dion Waiters poured in 21 and Tyler Zeller turned in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have dropped four of their last five games.

"The game is simple. We don't play hard in spurts and it equates to losses. I thought New Orleans got a lot of easy baskets," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "Our coverages for the most part are the same. We make little adjustments here and there but you've got to play at a certain level for 48 minutes in order to win."

Cleveland rookie Anthony Bennett had his best game as a pro, scoring a career- high 15 points and pulling down eight rebounds. The first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft was 5-for-10 from the floor in just over 31 minutes of action.

"He had a heck of a practice yesterday for us. He's been doing the things we ask of him to do in practice," Brown said of Bennett. "We played him and he took advantage of the opportunity. Just one of those things when you've got to stay ready when your number is called and he showed that he stayed ready tonight."

Cleveland took a 13-6 lead just shy of the midway point of the first quarter after Irving knocked down a 3-pointer. Roberts countered with a trey of his own and Gordon took a long rebound all the way to the hoop to make it a two- point game just under a minute later.

The teams traded baskets from there until a Luol Deng jumper made it a six- point game. The Pelicans managed to pull within a point in the closing moments of the frame, but Waiters got a floater to fall to give the hosts a 29-26 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Bennett put the Cavs up 41-35 with 6:31 remaining in the second quarter, but New Orleans closed the half on a 21-3 run to take a 56-44 lead into the break. Gordon scored nine points on the burst while Davis, Aminu and Rivers added four points apiece. New Orleans was 9-for-12 from the floor over that stretch.

Cleveland was within 11, 65-54, with 5:48 to go in the third, but a 16-5 run from New Orleans, capped with a tough 20-footer from Aminu, gave the Pelicans a commanding 81-59 advantage.

New Orleans carried an 83-65 spread into the final frame, and never saw its lead dip below 11 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Pelicans shot 52.7 percent (39-for-74) from the field ... New Orleans scored 19 points off 11 Cleveland turnovers ... The Pelicans outrebounded the Cavs 41-35 ... Bennett tied a career high for rebounds ... Cavs center Anderson Varejao was inactive because of a knee injury.