Davis and Cousins receive “Moore” help in New Orleans Pelicans win

In case anyone forgot, the New Orleans Pelicans are run by a two-headed monster. Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins were out to remind everyone of that early on Saturday. Too bad for the Los Angeles Clippers, they had to be the punching bags.

The New Orleans Pelicans were over .500 for the first time in what seemed like a century heading into their matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.

With a possible 7-5 record on the horizon, Jrue Holiday stepped up in a big way. The guard has been disappointing early in the year but poured in 34 points with 11 assists. Sadly, the heavy hitters Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins weren’t hitting heavy that night. The Pelicans lost a tight one and dropped to 6-6 instead.

That over .500 feeling must’ve been nice, however, because the duo of Davis and Cousins came out swinging on Saturday – hard.

They were the only ones for quite some time to be throwing any punches, however. E’Twaun Moore joined the party late in the first half, giving New Orleans a nice push.

A big first half from those three had the Pelicans clinging to a five-point lead heading into the third.

In the third, reinforcements arrived. Cousins and Davis continued their big days, while Dante Cunningham and Cheick Diallo came to life. Meanwhile, Moore’s stat line may not show it but he continued his great play in the second half.

The Pelicans only led by six going into the fourth, however. This was due to a massive turnover problem.

Then came the fourth quarter, and with it came tired bodies. The Pelicans lineup for the quarter contained a mixture of Holiday and Moore, as well as Ian Clark and Jameer Nelson. Other than Moore, the other three struggled from the floor all night. This left Davis and Cousins to fend for themselves for the most part.

Luckily, they were up to the task, as both had their classic “stat-stuffing” games.

The Pelicans sneaked by with a 111-103 win, moving back over .500 to 7-6 on the year.

Anthony Davis finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, as well as six assists and two blocks and steals apiece.

Meanwhile, Cousins ended the day with 35 points and 15 boards, as well as four assists. He also had the ridiculous play of the game, hitting a tough baseline turnaround off the top of the glass in the fourth.

That’s the basketball equivalent of a Big Boot from Big Cass – there’s just no coming back from it.

There was one major flaw in Cousins’ game, however. The big man couldn’t seem to control the ball, ending the game with eight turnovers. He wasn’t the only New Orleans Pelicans player with that problem either.

Holiday couldn’t build off his breakout performance, as he joined Cousins with seven turnovers. He also went 1-for-6 from the field (six points), picking up eight assists and three rebounds.

Darius Miller went 1-for-1 from three, continuing his fantastic turnaround on the year. Meanwhile, Dante Cunningham went 2-for-2 after going 4-for-4 on Thursday.

Cheick Diallo picked up nine points (4-of-5 from the field) and six rebounds after four straight DNP-CDs.

Finally, there was the monstrous game from E’Twaun Moore. The guard played his usual great defense while picking up 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

Moore continues to prove he’s an extremely valuable member of this Pelicans team.

Next: When it comes to Jrue Holiday, the more the better

It’s becoming commonplace for Cousins and Davis to pick up most of the slack. If the Pelicans can continue to get solid contributions from one-or-two extra players each night, there could more Ws in the future.