Davis gets 40 points, 21 rebounds in Pelicans’ OT win

NEW ORLEANS – It’s official. This is getting really scary.

It’s not often that young All-Stars have career performances back-to-back, but New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis is proving every time out that he is expanding a game that appears to have no clear limits.

In a 121-120 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics Sunday at the Smoothie King Center, the second-year prodigy recorded career highs in both points (40) and rebounds (21) – one game after having set a personal best with 36 points in a loss to Portland.

“I think he’s unreal,” said Boston coach Brad Stevens, whose team scored five points in the final 4.9 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime only to fail to match Davis’ heroics. “I came into our game in January thinking that he’s an All-Star. After twice playing him, if there’s 10 guys better in the league, I haven’t seen them. He’s a special player.”

Davis made 14-of-22 from the field and all 12 of his free throws to establish his most recent personal high. Over the last six games, Davis has averaged 32.3 points and 14.3 rebounds.

“I think he can do this 10 to 15 times a year, just because he’s so gifted and does things for the right reasons,” said Pelicans coach Monty Williams. “Obviously, he has great athletic ability, but some of that stuff is just him. We try to put him in a position where he can be a dominant player.”

What Williams liked most won’t even show up on the stats sheet. Leading 121-120 with 5.7 seconds left – after Boston forward Jeff Green hit a layup and foul shot to cut the New Orleans lead to one – Davis wound up with the ball on the inbounds pass on the far side of the court.

Because of a defensive miscommunication by the Celtics, Davis was wide open and just 30 feet from the basket. He had clear sailing to swoop in for a dunk that would have put the Pelicans up by three.

Davis, however, thought better of it, figuring running time off the clock was far better than giving the Celtics any chance for a tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

“I wanted to get the clock running,” Davis said. “We were only up one, and two free throws would be three. I tried to use that basketball IQ to keep the clock moving without them being able to foul.”

After the play, Davis, who just turned 21 on Tuesday, looked in Williams’ direction as if to say he knew what he was doing.

“I let him know I have a little bit of basketball IQ,” Davis said, laughing. “Just a little bit.”

Williams said that sequence symbolizes the kind of future his All-Star has.

“At the end he could’ve dunked the ball, but he has enough savvy to know that you just have to run the clock out,” Williams said. “It’s not about stats. Everything he does is about the team and trying to help us win.”

Stevens said a defensive miscommunication led to Davis roaming free in the final seconds.

“We miscommunicated on a switch,” Stevens said. “It happens. The bottom line is we didn’t get to the ball quickly enough.”

Boston forward Kris Humphries sent the game into overtime with a 20-foot jumper from the right baseline as regulation time expired. Just 1.4 seconds earlier, Davis had given New Orleans a 112-110 lead — and seemingly the win — with an 18-foot jumper over Green.

With 4.9 seconds left in regulation, Green, who finished with a team-high 39 points, made three foul shots after being fouled behind the arc by forward Al-Farouq Aminu, tying the game at 110. But it wasn’t enough. Not with Davis on the other end.

“He’s a great player,” Green said. “It’s hard to guard him, especially when he’s hitting that jump shot. I felt we played good defense on him, but he just knocked down the shots over us.”

NOTES: There is no doubt that F Anthony Davis has made huge strides. He entered Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics with five consecutive games in which he had scored at least 28 points. But New Orleans coach Monty Williams said Davis has to play with a little more “focus.” “The last game (a 111-103 loss to Portland), he went for pump fakes against Dorell Wright, and it is something that the coaches had talked to him about,” Williams said. “He felt bad about that. It’s hard to complain when a guy goes for 36 (points) and nine (rebounds), but in order for him to maximize his potential, we have to help him and not let him slide in areas where he can get better.” … Boston coach Brad Stevens, the former Butler coach, said he gets pumped up for Selection Sunday. “It was great when you were in it, and it was the worst when you weren’t,” Stevens said. … Stevens said he might bring G Avery Bradley back into the starting lineup on Monday at Dallas.