Anthony Davis took a triumphant stride over the baseline and glared intensely at the crazed crowd, his arms stiff at his side, to give New Orleans an eight-point lead with 1:24 left, punctuating a memorable all-around performance that lifted the Pelicans to a 100-92 victory over the Magic on Sunday night.
Davis finished with 22 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and seven blocked shots. It marked the first time since the franchise was founded as the Charlotte Hornets in 1988 that a player on the club had that many points, rebounds and blocks in the same game.
Tyreke Evans scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help ensure New Orleans' first back-to-back wins in nearly a month. Led by Arron Afflalo's 25 points, the Magic twice got as close as three points late in the fourth quarter.