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Davis’ 47 points leads Pelicans to sweep of Trail Blazers

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) slaps hands with Nikola Mirotic (3) during the second half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, April 6, 2018, in Phoenix Photo: Associated Press/Matt York


By BRETT MARTEL , AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, and the New Orleans Pelicans completed a first-round playoff sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers with a 131-123 victory on Saturday.

Jrue Holiday capped his 41-point performance with an 18-foot pull-up jumper that gave the Pelicans a six-point lead with 40 seconds left.

Rajon Rondo added 16 assists, and Davis also had 11 rebounds and three blocks for New Orleans, which is moving on to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time since the NBA returned to the city 16 seasons ago.

C.J. McCollum scored 38 for the Trail Blazers, which responded to a blowout loss in Game 3 by keeping Game 4 close until the final minute. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 27, Damian Lillard added 18 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 18 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.

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