Watch: Anthony Davis scores career-high 59 points with 20 rebounds
Anthony Davis pieced together the most remarkable performance of his young NBA career on Sunday, shattering his career-high in points with 59, gathering 20 rebounds and adding four assists in a 111–104 win over the Pistons.
In the past 30 years, the only comparable performance is Shaquille O’Neal’s 61-point, 23-rebound performance against the Clippers in 2000. Davis’s 59 points are also an NBA season high, and the most that have been scored in a game since March 2014, when LeBron James dropped 61.
“I just go out there and play,” Davis told Fox Sports New Orleans after the game. “The guys on the bench were telling me, go out there and get 60 ... I just came out with a lot of energy.”
• JENKINS: How Anthony Davis emerged as the NBA’s latest phenom
Davis set the franchise record for points in a game, field goals made and attempted.
Photos: Davis joins the NBA’s active 50-point scorers
The NBA’s Active 50-Point Scorers
Jimmy Butler
James Harden
Isaiah Thomas
John Wall
Russell Westbrook
Anthony Davis
Damian Lillard
Stephen Curry
DeMarcus Cousins
Kemba Walker
Kyrie Irving
Klay Thompson
Corey Brewer
Kevin Durant
LeBron James
Terrence Ross
Carmelo Anthony
Kevin Love
Deron Williams
Brandon Jennings
Dwyane Wade
Jamal Crawford
Tony Parker
Dirk Nowitzki
Paul Pierce
Vince Carter
After the game, Davis’s teammates doused him in water.
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The Pelicans picked up just their seventh road win of the season, and improved to 22–23 overall. They trail the eighth-place Rockets by five in the loss column.