In New Orleans on Friday night, the San Antonio Spurs and Pelicans battled into an extra session to determine the winner at Smoothie King Center. Unfortunately, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and the Pelicans ran out of steam in the overtime period despite looking impressive through regulation. The Spurs proved late why they are one of the best in the West and gained some ground on the Western Conference leaders with the big road win. Here's a look at how San Antonio came away with a 101-98 win in overtime on Friday evening.
New Orleans' top performers
Guard Jrue Holiday was playing on a mission to not only win the game but donate $1,000 of his money to tornado relief for every point and assist he recorded Friday night. Holiday finished with 26 points and five assists, so $31,000 should go to the New Orleans tornado relief. Unfortunately, Holiday's attempt to win the game in regulation came up short.
His "twin tower" teammates also played quite well despite being on the losing side. Anthony Davis tallied 29 points and nine rebounds along with three assists. Newest ally DeMarcus Cousins had a whopping 23 rebounds along with 19 points and four assists, although six turnovers and five personal fouls didn't help. Cousins had a chance to tie the game but his last-second three-pointer missed the mark.
San Antonio gets road win 27
Kawhi Leonard came up big for his team, recording 31 points in the win. Leonard shot 11-for-26 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists to help his team.
Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points, 15 rebounds, and swatted away three shots in the win. Teammates Pau Gasol and Patty Mills both came off the bench to score in double digits as well.
For the game, the Spurs out-rebounded New Orleans 53-48 and also shot 42 percent, compared to just 38 percent for the home team. Despite missing some crucial free throws down the stretch, this team showed why they could possibly overtake Golden State in the West in the coming month.
Standings and what's next
The Pelicans fall to 24-38 on their season and are still behind four other teams to get that No.
8 spot in the West. They're also about four or five games back from No. 8 Denver. Next up for the New Orleans Pelicans will be a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night starting at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The win has moved the Spurs to just two games behind the Warriors for the standings lead in the Western Conference. San Antonio returns home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.