‘We came out hungry. We jumped on them from the start and continued to fight the whole game’

Playing without NBA All-Star forward Anthony Davis most of the night after he suffered a bruised right knee, the New Orleans Pelicans still routed Atlanta 112-94 Tuesday.
Tim Frazier matched his career high with 21 points and added 14 assists for the Pelicans, who led by as many as 35 points in the third quarter.
“We came out hungry. We jumped on them from the start and continued to fight the whole game,” Frazier said. “When (Davis) went down everyone stepped up, but we already had the lead and just kept rolling.”
Davis, averaging 31.7 points and 11.3 rebounds entering the game, was hurt diving into the stands trying to retrieve a loose ball late in the first quarter, crashing into a seat in the fourth row.
“I banged (my knee) on a chair,” Davis said. “They worked on my knee and it was good enough to go back in. I’m OK.”
Davis returned to start the fourth quarter and finished with 13 points.
“He came back out and said that he could go,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “We put him back in to see if he was ready for (Wednesday’s game against Minnesota) and then took him back out.”
Terrence Jones scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half and the Pelicans led 34-14 after the first quarter.
“We started off the game the right way,” Gentry said. “We were really good defensively in the first quarter and because of that we ended up with some easy shots. It was a really good win for us against a quality team.”
New York’s Kristaps Porzingis scored 31 points to power the Knicks over Portland 107-103 for their fifth victory in a row at Madison Square Garden. The Trail Blazers had won their prior six visits.
Derrick Rose scored six of his 18 points in the final 3:40 and Brandon Jennings came off the bench to pass out 11 assists for the Knicks.
Portland had 22 points from Damian Lillard and 16 from CJ McCollum.
Jamal Murray came off the bench to score 24 points, leading six double-figure scorers for Denver in the Nuggets’ 110-107 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Denver’s Will Barton sank two free throws with nine seconds remaining and teammate Danilo Gallinari
added another to create the final margin.
Jusuf Nurkic scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Nuggets, who also had 16 points and nine points off the bench from Wilson Chandler. Jimmy Butler had 25 points in a losing cause.
New York Knicks won its fifth consecutive game at Madison Square Garden by knocking off Portland.
Kristaps Porzingis poured in 31 points, and Derrick Rose added 18 points and five assists for the Knicks. Brandon Jennings and Mindaugas Kuzminskas provided sparks off the bench by contributing 11 assists and 10 points, respectively.
Portland received 22 points from Damian Lillard and 16 points from CJ McCollum. Rose’s jumper with 6.8 seconds to play sealed the win.
Will Barton hit two free throws with 9.5 seconds left and Denver beat Chicago.
Barton finished with 10 points and Jamal Murray had 24 points and six rebounds, both season highs. Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Denver, which notched its 10th straight victory over the Bulls at Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets have won 16 of 17 overall at home against Chicago.
Jimmy Butler followed up his 40-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers with 35 points, eight rebounds and five assists. He was 11 of 12 from the line.
Nick Young’s 3-point bucket with five seconds left was the game-winner, boosting Los Angeles past Oklahoma City. The Lakers snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Thunder.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points to lead six Lakers in double figures.
Young contributed 17 points, Timofey Mozgov had 16 points, and Lou Williams added 13.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 34 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, while Steven Adams finished with 20 points.
Victor Oladipo chipped in 14 points, while Joffrey Lauvergne had 12 for Oklahoma City.

RESULTS
Pelicans          112 Hawks              94
Knicks             107 Trail Blazers 103
Nuggets          110 Bulls                107
Lakers               111 Thunder        109

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