Anthony Davis swatted away Pau Gasol's shot, quickly sprinted toward the other end of the court, took a pass from Eric Gordon and rolled in a driving layup as Jodie Meeks fouled him.

Davis smiled widely and allowed himself a slight fist pump as his momentum carried him over the baseline. He then sauntered back to free throw line and finished his game-sealing three-point play.

Davis finished with a career-high 32 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and tied a career best with six blocks, leading the New Orleans Pelicans over the Los Angeles Lakers 96-85 on Friday night.

"I mean, he's the franchise. He's that guy. He's the go-to guy and everybody here knows it," said guard Jrue Holiday, whose 13 points and 13 assists gave him his first double-double with New Orleans. "We want him to be that guy. It's awesome to see."

Gordon scored 16 for the Pelicans, who led most of the way in their second straight win. New Orleans had lost 11 regular-season games in a row to the Lakers.

"He's a special player because he's athletic," Gasol said. "He's able to block a shot on one end and sprint to the other end and get a layup ... so you really have to keep up with him because he creates a threat to you that's a little different than other players."

- Associated Press

(China Daily 11/10/2013 page7)