Anthony Davis of New Orleans Pelicans set the standards high with his performance in NBA season opener even though their team lost 107-102 at home to the Denver Nuggets.
Davis was able to score 50 points with 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks. It was considered as the 11th highest game score by a big man since the adoption of the three-point line, The Washington Post reports.
According to Kentucky, Davis was the fourth player in NBA history to 50 points or more in a season opener. He joins Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain in the list.
During the game against Nuggets, Denver Coach Mike Malone told his team not to do whatever it takes to stop Davis.
"When you play against a great player, you have a problem you need to answer: Are you going to shut him down and create problems elsewhere, or are you going to let him get his and hope nobody else goes off?," Malone said.
However, Davis' excellent play paved way to trim a deficit for New Orleans that is as large as 14 late in the second quarter down to two point in the last minutes.
"We gave them too many easy looks in the beginning of the game," Davis said. "We gave ourselves a chance. We've just got to play like we played in the third and fourth quarter in the beginning of the game."
He also did not get much help offensively. Other members of the Pelicans combined to shoot 21 of 58.
Tim Frazier had 15 points for the Pelicans. E'Twaun Moore added 10 points, but missed the opportunity to tie the score with 24 second left.
Moreover, Davis did not blame his teammates for the loss, stating their shot selection was decent, although they missed shots they often make. He was focused on criticizing himself for his few missed shots from close range and his late turnover.
"I'm going to have to - probably not 50 every night - but try to get somewhere along those lines every game to give ourselves a chance," Davis said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
