Davis posts another ridiculous stat line in return as Pelicans top Pistons

Anyone worried about Anthony Davis needing a few games to shake the rust off following a five-game absence can safely put those worries to bed.

Davis returned from a sprained right shoulder against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, leading his New Orleans Pelicans to an 88-85 victory with another one of his patented and ridiculous box-score lines.

The unibrowed superstar was everywhere Wednesday, scoring 39 points on 17-of-30 shooting, grabbing 13 rebounds, dishing two assists, notching three steals and blocking eight shots. Eight! Enormous lines are old hat for the 21-year-old, but even this is new territory for Davis, who had never before blocked eight shots in a 30-10 double-double.

The impressive block total also served to move Davis into first on the franchise's all-time shot-blocking leaderboard with 437, passing David West's 435 and doing so in 350 fewer games.

The Pelicans barely hanging on despite Davis's dominance was somewhat surprising, but the Pistons played a solid defensive game, specifically when it came to chasing New Orleans off the 3-point line. The Pelicans went 2-of-12 from outside and managed just 16 free throw attempts - normally marks that bode well for a defense - but Detroit went 2-of-14 with nine free throw attempts themselves.

Davis was flanked by Tyreke Evans, who scored 21 points with nine assists and continued his successful masquerade as a point guard in the process. Alexis Ajinca wasn't hurt much by Davis's return, either, scoring 10 points with 11 rebounds.

Jodie Meeks led the way for Detroit, scoring 20 points off the bench, while Reggie Jackson had 14 points and 11 assists, Andre Drummond had 13 points with 18 rebounds and Greg Monroe had 13 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. 

That's a lot of double-doubles in a low-scoring affair, but there were a lot of missed field goal attempts for players to pull in. There just weren't many from Davis.

The win moved the Pelicans to 33-28 and keeps them within a game of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final Western Conference playoff spot. The Pistons, meanwhile, fell three-and-a-half games out of a playoff spot in the East.