Anthony Davis is showing NBA from around the world that the New Orleans Pelicans could be a real contender in the NBA Playoffs this season and very well could be a dark horse for a spot in the NBA Finals.The Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 119-102 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Thursday night, with Nikola Mirotic scoring the most points with 30 points, adding eight rebounds, and two assists.Davis had a good night as well, as he finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals, two blocks, and he was 11-of-18 shooting from the field, helping New Orleans take one step closer towards completing a surprising sweep against Portland.The All-Star even had an amazing putback slam in the third quarter of the game to show that the Pelicans were just miles ahead of the Trail Blazers on the court and that they'll have to do something outstanding in Game 4 to avoid the sweep.Pelicans' Ian Clark missed a corner 3-point shot from the left, and Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic waited for the rebound to fall in the paint, except it never did, as Davis made sure that it didn't. He came flying high over Nurkic’s head to throw down a monstrous hammer slam dunk.
The Pelicans are now 3-0 up in their first-round series against the Trail Blazers ahead of their Game 4 contest at the Smoothie King Center once more in New Orleans this coming Saturday. If they do win Game 4, it will be the first time in their franchise history that they have managed to complete a sweep in the playoffs.
The win on Thursday came in front of DeMarcus Cousins as well, who was attending his first home game of the Pelicans since his injury on January 26.
The Trail Blazers had no response to the epic attacking flair of Davis and the Pelicans last night, but they'll need to find one this Saturday if they want to keep their playoff dreams alive.
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