Pelicans 112, Bucks 104

NEW ORLEANS — Forward Anthony Davis scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and guard Tyreke Evans added 25 points and seven assists to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center.

Coming off a 28-point, 15-rebound effort in a 132-125 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, Davis took command with 16 first-half points. The Pelicans (25-37) led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter before Milwaukee cut it to 104-99 with 1:17 left.

But Evans made six consecutive free throws to ice the victory, the 14th in 16 games against Bucks, who have the NBA’s worst record at 12-49.

Forward Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 25 points and forward Jeff Adrien had a career-high 20.

The Bucks struggled from the perimeter early — missing all eight of its 3-point attempts and all 14 shots outside the paint in the first half — before finally finding the range in the third quarter.

Guard Brandon Knight and Middleton hit two 3-pointers each to spark a 21-9 run for a 77-72 lead. But the Pelicans closed the quarter with six consecutive points, including a baseline drive and an off-balance jumper by Davis that put New Orleans up 78-77.

Davis then opened the fourth quarter with a driving layup and foul shot and then hit a 15-foot jumper to put New Orleans up 83-79. When guard Anthony Morrow hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline, the Pelicans led 93-85 with 7:13 left.

The Bucks already were playing without forward Ersan Ilyasova, who was suspended for a game for throwing a punch at Sacramento forward Reggie Evans in a loss on Wednesday. Then, in the second quarter, guard O.J. Mayo was ejected for throwing a right hand that landed in the throat area of Pelicans backup center Greg Steimsma.

Mayo, who lost his starting job earlier this season, played only three minutes and did not score when he was called for the Flagrant-2 foul. Mayo apparently was angered at Steimsma’s hard pick, which sent him to the floor.

Davis had 16 points and six rebounds in helping the Pelicans take a 51-49 halftime lead. Evans added 11 points and Gordon had nine.

Despite shooting just 38 percent from the field, Milwaukee stayed within striking distance by making 13 of 16 free throws. Adrien, averaging just 3.3 points per game, came off the bench to score 14 points for the Bucks in the first half, including 6 of 7 from the foul line. Middleton added 10 points.

NOTES: Bucks F John Henson started in place of F Ersan Ilyasova, who was suspended by the league for one game after punching Kings F Reggie Evans in a scrum under the basket during a 116-102 home loss to Sacramento on Wednesday night. Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said he did not see the suspension coming. It cost Ilyasova a $71,000 game check. “I never knew that the incident had happened,” said Drew, who did not review the videotape. “But obviously the league looked at instant replay and felt that the play warranted suspension. We were kind of aware that there was discussion going on this morning at our shootaround, and we had to prepare ourselves if he was suspended. It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got to keep moving forward.” … In four previous starts since replacing Al-Farouq Aminu, Pelicans G Tyreke Evans averaged 21.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. … New Orleans returned home after playing seven of eight games on the road, where they went 1-6.