Mirotic, Davis push Pelicans past Kings, 149-129

Nikola Mirotic scored 36 points, Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the pace-pushing New Orleans Pelicans continued their torrid start to the season with a 149-129 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 10 assists for the Pelicans, who shot 58.9 percent (56 of 95) and reached 110 points before the third quarter ended.

Julius Randle and Ian Clark each scored 13, and Randle also had 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which opened the season with a surprising 131-112 victory at Houston and has scored at least 30 points in each of its first eight quarters of play so far.

Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III (35) dunks next to New Orleans Pelicans guard E'Twaun Moore (55) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, La., Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoMatthew Hinton)

Mirotic hit three 3s in quick succession in the middle of the fourth quarter, the third a step-back shot from the right wing, drawing chants of "Ni-ko! Ni-ko!" from the crowd.

Willie Cauley-Stein scored 20 points and Marvin Bagley III had 19 for Sacramento, which has lost its first two games. De'Aron Fox and Frank Mason each scored 18 for the Kings, who shot 52.1 percent but simply could not keep up with the Pelicans, whose relentless style produced a slew of crowd-pleasing moments.

In the first half, Holiday lofted a right-handed lob that looked like a running hook to Davis, who soared to palm the ball with his right hand and slam it down in one motion.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks against Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III (35) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, La., Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoMatthew Hinton)

Later, Davis grabbed an offensive rebound as he crashed to the court, and from his back flipped a pass to Holiday, who drove down the lane for a layup.

New Orleans finished with 16 3-pointers on 31 attempts from deep (51.6 percent).

TIP-INS

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) grabs a rebound in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings in New Orleans, La., Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoMatthew Hinton)

Kings: Former Pelicans first-round draft choice Buddy Hield scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. ... C Kosta Koufos was out with a right hamstring strain.

Pelicans: Randle played despite being on New Orleans' injury list with left plantar fasciitis. ... G Elfrid Payton had 11 points to go with six rebounds and six assists in his second game with New Orleans after getting a triple-double in his debut. ... Darius Miller scored 10 points. ... The Pelicans are 2-0 for the first time since 2011-12, the last season before Davis was drafted.

UP NEXT

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks against Sacramento Kings forward Harry Giles (20) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, La., Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoMatthew Hinton)

Kings: Visit Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Pelicans: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) shoots against Sacramento Kings forward Skal Labissiere (7) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, La., Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoMatthew Hinton)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise history, winning 121-83 on Thursday night to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2019 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011.

They can even the series with a victory at home Sunday.

Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 39% from the field and 23.5% from 3-point range. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Donovan Mitchell had 13 points and seven assists.

76ERS 125, KNICKS 114

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.

With one of the finest postseason efforts of his career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason and kept the hope of a Philadelphia series comeback very much alive.

The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor overall, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.

NUGGETS 112, LAKERS 105

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Denver moved to the brink of the second round with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series..

Jamal Murray scored 22 points as the defending NBA champion Nuggets won their 11th consecutive meeting with LeBron James and the Lakers in dominating style.

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) makes a shot as he gets past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)