Halo

If the last three games are a sign of the future, it's time to start including Anthony Davis in the MVP conversation.

Davis had his third straight brilliant game, posting 45 points and 16 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 116-113 overtime win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

The Pelicans have won their last three contests, the last two coming on the road in New York and Boston. Davis has scored 129 points and grabbed 42 rebounds in that span, and he's scored at least 30 points in each of his last four games. He became the second player (James Harden) this season with two straight games of 40 points or more.

Jrue Holiday also added 23 points and seven assists, while DeMarcus Cousins had a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double.

The Celtics were led by a 27-point, seven-rebound effort from Kyrie Irving, but the All-Star point guard was far from at his best. Irving made made just eight of his 24 field goals and had six turnovers, highlighted by miscues in critical moments. In one particular fourth-quarter sequence, Irving missed two threes and had a turnover to help allow the Pelicans to tie the game at 101. He scored the Celtics' last three points of regulation, including a layup with 11.8 seconds remaining that tied the game at 104 and sent it to overtime.

Irving missed a game-tying three with 5.6 seconds left that could have forced a second overtime.

The Celtics entered Tuesday with seven straight wins and were playing in their first game since traveling to London for a 114-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Five other Celtics, spearheaded by Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart with 16 points apiece, were also in double figures. Al Horford turned in a 14-9-6 stat line that continued his stellar season, while Marcus Morris (12 points) and Jayson Tatum (10 points) were also in double figures.

Boston made 19 threes but spent most of its night struggling inside the arc. The C's shot just 21-of-51 on twos, compared to a 19-of-50 rate from distance.

The Pelicans were a polar opposite, making just seven of their 27 threes while doing most of their work on the inside. They were also far less reliant on their reserves, with Ian Clark being responsible for 15 of their 18 bench points.

The Celtics had 42 points from their reserves.

New Orleans will try to make it three straight on the road and four straight overall when it visits the Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics play their second game in three against the Sixers on Thursday.

Read more New Orleans Pelicans news on BleacherReport.com



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