BOSTON — Anthony Davis had 45 points and 16 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 116-113 overtime victory over Boston on Tuesday night, ending the Celtics’ seven-game winning streak.
Davis, who scored 48 on Sunday in an overtime win in New York, had four points in overtime and blocked two shots for the Pelicans, who overcame a sluggish start to the fourth quarter and erased a five-point deficit in the final few minutes of regulation.
DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday added 23 points and seven assists. Ian Clark added 15 points for the Pelicans, whose size inside ended up prevailing in overtime when Boston’s barrage of 3-pointers stopped falling.
Kyrie Irving led Boston with 27 points and Al Horford had 14 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown added 16 points apiece for the Celtics, who attempted a season-high 50 3-pointers.
Rather than challenge Davis and Cousins inside, the Celtics lived outside and it cost them in overtime when they went just 1 for 4. Horford’s 3-pointer early in OT gave Boston a 107-106 lead and Boston went up 113-110 before the Pelicans away put the game.
A jumper by Cousins cut the lead to 113-112, then Holiday added two more field goals and Boston couldn’t catch up from there.
New Orleans survived a rough start to the fourth, opening the period 3 for 13 and going without a field goal from 6:40 remained until the 1:50 mark, when a layup by Clark cut Boston’s lead to 101-98. The Pelicans went ahead 104-102 in the final minute of regulation before Irving, who scored just three in the first half, drove for a layup to tie it at 104 with 11 seconds left.
Irving scored 16 in the third to help Boston back into it, but New Orleans scored the last six points of the third for an 87-80 lead, and went ahead by 10 early in the fourth.
Boston battled back again, tying it at 95-all when a dunk by Brown invigorated the home fans. After a turnover and foul by the Pelicans, Irving kept the momentum with another 3-pointer for Boston with 5:07 left for a 98-95 lead.
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