NEW ORLEANS (AP) Two days after needing four IVs to overcome an illness and finish a game, New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis didn't need any extra fluids to dominate an opponent on Wednesday night.
With Davis healthy and recovered, the Pelicans rolled to a 115-89 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Davis had 28 points and 12 rebounds and New Orleans won for the second straight game, only the second time this season it has won back-to-back games.
More importantly, the Pelicans improved to .500 at home and have gone 8-8 after starting the season 1-11.
''We could have a lot more wins,'' Davis said. ''We gave some games away. Some games we didn't even show up to play. I think we're heading back in the right direction.''
The Pelicans did it unconventionally for them, playing stifling defense.
Despite being last in the league in points allowed per game (107.8) and next-to-last in opponent's field goal percentage (46.5), New Orleans held the Blazers to 30 percent shooting over the final three quarters.
''I thought we were good at just being solid defensively,'' Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. ''We didn't have the breakdowns or the roll to the baskets or anything like that. Hopefully it's another step in the consistency of what we're trying to do.''
The game, however, turned with 4 minutes to play in the first half when New Orleans turned a two-point lead into a 51-36 halftime advantage. Tyreke Evans, who finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, had eight points and two steals to key the game-changing run.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, got hot from 3-point range to help extend the lead. After starting the game 2 of 14 from beyond the arc, New Orleans went 10 for 15. Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon combined for nine of the 12 3-pointers. Holiday had 19 points while Ryan Anderson added 13.
''We never were really able to get back into it,'' Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ''They got off to a good start in the third quarter and we were into too big of a hole. We struggled offensively most of the night shooting the ball.''
C.J. McCollum had 19 points and seven assists to lead Portland, which was without Damian Lillard for the second time this season. Allen Crabbe scored 12 points starting in place of Lillard, who has plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Al-Farouq Aminu scored 10 points and had eight rebounds against his former team. ... Portland lost in spite of outrebounding New Orleans 58-49.
Pelicans: The other time the Pelicans won back-to-back was in a three-game winning streak from Nov. 22-25.
PORTLAND'S ROAD SLUMP
Portland hasn't found much success away from the Moda Center this season. Including Wednesday night's loss, the Trail Blazers have lost five straight on the road and are 5-14 away from home this season.
Wednesday also ended a five-game road trip for Portland, one in which it lost every game. The last time the Trail Blazers lost every time it played on a road trip of at least five games was Feb. 17-24, 1974. Portland finished that season 5-34 on the road
PELICANS CONTINUE WITH OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING WOES
New Orleans entered Wednesday night's game against Portland averaging a franchise-worst 8.6 offensive rebounds per game. New Orleans' lowest average for a full season is 9.8 in 2008-09. Wednesday night's effort didn't exactly help get the Pelicans back on track. New Orleans recorded only eight offensive boards, with Davis picking up three.
Only Atlanta is worse, averaging 8.2 entering Wednesday's games.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: host Cleveland on Saturday
Pelicans: visit Miami on Friday.
