Kevin Durant made his season debut, but it was not enough to rescue the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder as they took a 112-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Durant, who missed the Thunder's first 17 games after undergoing foot surgery, scored 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field, but it was not enough as the Pelicans were simply too hot to handle on Tuesday night.
Tyreke Evans erupted for 30 points to go along with five assists and two rebounds, while Anthony Davis had another all-around performance, finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, four blocks and four assists for the Pelicans.
Ryan Anderson also had a big night as he racked up 23 points and 11 rebounds, while starting point guard Jrue Holiday posted 16 points and 10 assists to go along with five rebounds and three steals for the Pelicans, who pulled away from the Thunder in the second period.
Ahead by three points after the first 12 minutes of the match, the Pelicans scored 40 points in the second quarter to take a commanding 17-point lead at the half. The Thunder had several comeback attempts in the second half, but the Pelicans held on to improve their record to 8-8 this season.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored their fourth straight victory as their Big Three combined for 81 points to escape with a hard-earned 111-108 win against the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 28 points and six assists, Kevin Love had 27 points and 10 rebounds, while LeBron James posted 26 points and 10 assists to go along with five rebounds for the Cavaliers.
But while the superstar trio took the spotlight on Tuesday night, James gave credit to Mike Miller, who made two key three-pointers and a crucial block down the stretch to help the Cavaliers improve to 9-7 this season.
"I've played with him for so long that I know exactly how he can be effective," James said of Miller via ESPN. "He's going to be very important to our team."
Brandon Knight led the Bucks with 27 points and eight assists, while rookie forward Jabari Parker added 22 points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals.
