NEW ORLEANS -- Forward Anthony Davis scored 32 points, including 15 in a season-best 72-point first half, to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 115-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center.

The Pelicans (15-27) won for the fourth time in five games and for the seventh consecutive time against the Pistons (23-20). Guard Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and had 10 assists and reserve forward Ryan Anderson added 13 points for New Orleans.

The Pistons were led by guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 23 points. Guard Brandon Jennings had 20 points, and center Andre Drummond had 19 points and 22 rebounds.

The Pelicans shot 66 percent and scored a season-high 72 points in the first half to take a 72-53 lead at intermission. Davis led New Orleans with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, Evans added 14 points and five assists, and Anderson had 11 points.

Norris Cole started at guard for the injured Eric Gordon and scored eight points, including a lefty slam over center Drummond in the first quarter.

New Orleans got whatever it wanted on offense.

Fourteen of their 29 made field goals in the first half were either layups or dunks, and they recorded 17 assists. The Pelicans also made 4 of 7 from behind the arc.

Playing the second half of a back-to-back, the Pistons looked out of sync, committed nine first-half turnovers and displayed little resistance on defense. New Orleans guard Toney Douglas, seeing his first action in nearly a month, came off the bench and recorded two steals, which led to fast break layups.

The 72 points allowed were the most yielded by the Pistons in the first half this season. Their previous high was 62 points in a road game against Charlotte. Adding in the 67 points they allowed Houston in the second half of a 123-114 victory on Wednesday the Pistons allowed 139 points in consecutive halves.

Detroit forward Marcus Morris showed his frustration after arguing a no-call on a driving layup attempt and picked up his eighth technical foul of the season.

The Pistons were down by as many as 23 points but outscored New Orleans 24-18 in the third quarter to cut their deficit to 90-77. Detroit made it 90-81 on a rebound follow by guard Stanley Johnson early in the fourth quarter, but it got no closer.

NOTES: One day after C Andre Drummond was serially fouled by Houston and sent to the foul line 36 times, where he missed 23 shots (the most missed free throws in NBA history), Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was trying to make sense of the strategy. "What it really comes down to ... is the fans," Van Gundy said. "We don't have a league without the fans. The fans are what this is all about. If you don't have people watching on TV, if you don't have people watching the games, you don't have a league. (The league) has to decide if that's the show they want to put on. ... I'm not looking to make any statements. I'm just trying to win games." ... With Pelicans G Eric Gordon out four to six weeks with a fractured right ring finger, Norris Cole started at point guard. ... The Pelicans signed NBA Development League G Bryce Dejean-Jones to a 10-day contract.



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