Davis Shines As Pelicans Rout Rockets In Season Opener

Davis shines as Pelicans rout Rockets in season opener

Anthony Davis scored 32 points and Elfrid Payton finished with a triple double as the New Orleans Pelicans got their NBA season off to a roaring start by clobbering the Houston Rockets 131-112 on Wednesday.

Los Angeles, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Oct, 2018 ) :Anthony Davis scored 32 points and Elfrid Payton finished with a triple double as the New Orleans Pelicans got their NBA season off to a roaring start by clobbering the Houston Rockets 131-112 on Wednesday.

Davis also had 16 rebounds and Payton finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Pelicans who led wire-to-wire.

"I am just taking what defence gives me," said Davis. "It is only game one. We still got a lot of work to do." The Pelicans' dominating win in front of a crowd of 18,000 at Toyota Center arena in Texas was one of 11 games in the first full night of the 2018-19 NBA season.

League Most Valuable Player James Harden flirted with a triple double, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Rockets failed to match New Orleans' season-opening intensity, especially on defence.

Nikola Mirotic delivered 30 points and 10 rebounds in the blowout as the Pelicans led by as many as 29 points at one stage. They led 35-29 at the end of the first quarter and 71-64 at halftime.

Payton and Julius Randle were the two biggest offseason additions for the Pelicans, who appear to have adjusted nicely to the new blood in the lineup.

DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo are no longer with the Pelicans, who will have to develop and a new personality this season.

"We are not going to shoot the ball this well every night but tonight we did a great job imposing our will on defence which led to a lot of face break opportunities," said Davis. "When we play like this we will be a tough team to beat."Everybody thought the Pelicans' 2017-18 season was done when Cousins went down in mid-season with an Achilles injury. New Orleans rallied together and swept Portland in the first round of the playoffs.