Davis, Mirotic lead Pelicans past Rockets 131-112
HOUSTON -- Anthony Davis couldn't help but notice James Harden's freshly minted MVP trophy sitting at midcourt before a ceremony during warmups on Wednesday night.
After Harden hoisted the trophy for the first time before the Toyota Center home crowd and received a few MVP chants throughout the night, Davis began to make an MVP case of his own.
Davis had 32 points, 16 rebounds and a career-high eight assists while Nikola Mirotic scored 30 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 131-112 win over the Houston Rockets in their season opener.
"When it was sitting there before the game, I glanced at it, and then I had to lock back in for the game," Davis said. "That stuff will take care of itself. As long as we keep doing what we're doing as a team, the rest will come on its own."
Davis added three blocks and three steals, while Mirotic shot a sizzling 6 of 8 from 3-point range, and Julius Randle had 25 points off the bench.
"We moved the basketball and we made shots, but we put our hats on and defended," Davis said. "To come out with a win against a team like that after the season they had and coming off the season we had, we wanted to come out and set a tempo for ourselves."
Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 21 points off the bench, while P.J. Tucker and Chris Paul both added 19 points. James Harden had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
"A
little bit of legs and non-communication and giving them easy points, easy opportunities -- a little bit of everything," Harden said. "But first game, you just continue to build those good habits and continue to get better every single game. We'll be all right."
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