New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - A night after Anthony Davis' improbable buzzer-beating 3 lifted the Pelicans over the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans was without its star for much of the Chicago Bulls' 107-72 win on Saturday.
Davis landed hard on his right shoulder when his hands slipped off the rim following an alley-oop dunk. He remained in the game for another minute before being subbed out late in the first half. He did not return, but was diagnosed with a contusion after X-rays came back negative.
"He says he's a bit sore right now and couldn't move his arm the way he needed to, so we got him out," said Pelicans coach Monty Williams.
Without Davis to protect the rim, Pau Gasol flourished, scoring 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting with eight rebounds after Davis' departure and finishing with 20 points and 15 boards.
Derrick Rose also scored 20 to help the Bulls end their three-game skid. Tony Snell scored 19 off the bench with five 3-pointers.
"I thought our guys did a good job of breaking the defense down and then making the extra pass. That's something that we've been working on.," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Tyreke Evans netted 15 points and Alexis Ajinca added 10 for the Pelicans, who have lost two of their last three.
When Davis left, the game was tied at 35. The Bulls finished the half on a 13-4 run to lead 48-39 at the break.
Eric Gordon's 3 a couple minutes into the second half pulled New Orleans within 11, but the Bulls followed with a 15-0 run to take command. Jimmy Butler's jumper as time expired in the quarter gave Chicago an 81-56 lead after three.
Butler scored the first four points of the fourth period, and he was subbed out with 10 1/2 minutes to play. No starters played the remainder of the game for either team.
The Bulls led by as many as 36 late in the game when Doug McDermott scored the final five points of a 7-0 Chicago run.
Offense was harder to come by in the first quarter. Each team struggled through droughts, and Gasol scored the last three points of the period to cut the Pelicans' lead to 20-18 after one.
Game Notes
Davis finished with eight points and five rebounds ... Butler scored 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting ... Chicago held a 45-38 rebounding edge ... New Orleans' Ryan Anderson had just four points on 1-of-11 shooting, including 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.