BOSTON — Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans eventually were too big for the Boston Celtics.
Davis had 45 points and 16 rebounds as he and DeMarcus Cousins controlled the lane and led the Pelicans to a 116-113 overtime victory on Tuesday night, ending the Celtics' seven-game winning streak.
“It was a great win for us. They tested us,” said Davis, who just missed matching the 48 points he scored Sunday during a win in New York.
Cousins added 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 23 points. The trio combined for all 12 Pelicans points in OT as New Orleans handed the Celtics their first loss of 2018.
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, 24 after halftime as the Celtics rallied from a 12-point deficit and led by as much as five late in regulation.
“For some reason tonight, the whole game we were a little careless. It just carried over there at the end,” said Al Horford, who had 14 points and nine rebounds. “We thought we had it. It just got away from us.”
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.
“I thought we did a great job defensively in the first half trying to contain Kyrie. You know that that's not going to last the entire game,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “We came up with stops when we absolutely had to and then we were able to make some plays down the stretch that were the difference in the game.”
Horford's 3-pointer early in OT gave Boston a 107-106 lead and Boston went up 113-110. 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.
Magic 108, Timberwolves 102: Evan Fournier scored a career-high 32 points as Orlando stunned visiting Minnesota.
Fournier hit six 3-pointers and D.J. Augustin had 11 points in the fourth quarter as Orlando snapped a seven-game losing streak and won for only the second time in its last 18 games.
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Minnesota, which saw a five-game winning streak snapped. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Nuggets 105, Mavericks 102: Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead Denver to a gritty victory over visiting Dallas.
The Nuggets led by as many as 23 points but were extended to the final minutes by the stubborn Mavericks. Gary Harris and Will Barton added 25 and 22 points, respectively, for Denver, which has now won two of its past three games after losing three straight outings.
Dennis Smith Jr. led Dallas with 25 points. Harrison Barnes added 17 points, Devin Harris hit for 16 off the bench.
Trail Blazers 118, Suns 111: Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 58 points as Portland outgunned Devin Booker and visiting Phoenix.
Lillard finished with 31 points on just 19 shot attempts and also dished out seven assists while McCollum contributed 27 points. The duo combined to sink 10 of 17 3-point tries as Portland finished 17 of 35 from behind the arc.
Booker starred in defeat, gunning in a game-high 43 points on 14-of-29 shooting from the field. Booker, who made all of his 10 free throws, also chipped in six rebounds and eight assists. — Agencies