Hawks survive monster game by Anthony Davis, beat Pelicans 121-115

The Atlanta Hawks pulled out a 121-115 win Friday night in New Orleans, despite 43 points from Anthony Davis, which tied a career high for the young budding star.

Atlanta didn't get off to a great start, giving up 28 points in the first quarter, finding themselves down by two. The second quarter was much better for the Hawks who would break out on a 13-4 run to start the second quarter. They found their shooting rhythm, and played much more complete. Shots were falling, and Dennis Schroder even went at Anthony Davis successfully on a drive to the basket.

The Hawks biggest lead of the half came at 52-39 with 2:28 left in the half, and would carry a 58-47 lead into halftime. Kyle Korver led Hawks starters with 8 points on 3-of-3 shooting, but the real story was Dennis Schroder, who was playing extremely well. In the half, Schroder had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with three assists. Schroder did all of this in just 12 minutes of play. Kent Bazemore did not attempt a shot in the half, but was 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Perhaps the best stat from the first half, was the fact that the Hawks outrebounded the Pelicans 27-13.

Anthony Davis put on a show in the third quarter. Davis totaled 16 points in the quarter, doing his best to push his team over the Hawks, but the Hawks played some great team ball, and kept having answers for Davis. Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and Al Horford all had great contributions in the quarter, with Horford stuffing an Anthony Davis shot underneath the basket late in the quarter. The Hawks would take a 89-79 lead into the fourth.

The Pelicans started off the fourth quarter with a technical foul, as they sent six guys out on the floor. Alvin Gentry would also get a technical foul, for arguing the technical that was issued to his team for the sixth man on the floor. Kyle Korver would knock down two technical free throws to make it 91-79 to start the fourth quarter.

Al Horford and Kyle Korver got two early baskets in the quarter to take a 17-point lead in the quarter, but Anthony Davis continued to keep his team in the game, and was having the best game of his season thus far, scoring 8 of the Pelicans first 9 points of the quarter. With just over six minutes left in the fourth, Davis knocked down a 3-pointer, and followed that with a pair of free throws to trim the Hawks lead to 104-101. He was simply putting the team on his shoulders the entire second half.

Anthony Davis tied the game at 108, giving himself 43 points on the night, and the Pelicans carrying all of the momentum. That momentum was quickly silenced when Kyle Korver nailed a 3-pointer, which was followed up by a Jeff Teague basket to give the Hawks a 113-108 lead with 2:54 left.

The Pelicans managed to stay in it late, when Jrue Holiday nailed a 3-pointer to cut the Hawks lead to 117-113. The following possession, Ryan Anderson came up with a block of Jeff Teague, that was initially ruled in the Hawks favor and possession, but was overturned through replay, giving the Pelicans the ball with 51.1 seconds remaining in the game. Eric Gordon would miss a 3-pointer on the following possession, and Jeff Teague knocked down two crucial free throws after being fouled, giving the Hawks a 119-113 lead with 29.1 seconds. The Hawks would come out with a 121-115 win.

Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap had 22 points apiece for the Hawks. Korver shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, and 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Millsap added 12 rebounds to his 22 points, giving him a double-double on the night. Jeff Teague had 19 points and 7 assists, while Dennis Schroder had 15 points and 5 assists off the bench for the Hawks.

The Hawks will face the Wizards Saturday night in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m., looking to get their 7th consecutive win.