Pelicans eliminated from postseason with loss to Nuggets

Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins are going to need more than 20 or so games together to prove they can lead a playoff team. Their New Orleans Pelicans were mathematically eliminated from the postseason with Tuesday's 134-131 loss at home to the Denver Nuggets.

While the Kentucky-trained twin towers had another big outing together - Davis scored 41 points while Cousins went for a near-triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists - the Pelicans will miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

For Cousins, who never played a postseason game in six-and-a-half years with the Sacramento Kings, that privilege will have to wait at least another season.

In truth, it would have taken a massive turnaround to get New Orleans into the playoffs. The Pelicans were 23-34 when Cousins arrived via trade on Feb. 20, and they'd have needed to play about .750 basketball since to keep pace with the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

Related: Davis, Cousins team up for killer 2-way sequence

After a bit of an adjustment period, there have been promising signs to the Boogie-Brow union, however. While only going 10-11 since the trade, the Pelicans vastly improved their offense, and have the seventh-ranked defensive rating in the NBA over the same period.

With the season all but over, however, Pels coach Alvin Gentry said after Tuesday's loss that he would play Cousins and Davis less in the team's last four games, according to ESPN's Justin Verrier.