INDIANAPOLIS – Shootaround was optional for players on Tuesday morning at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the friendly competition was mandatory.
Roughly eight hours before New Orleans tipped off against Indiana, Pelicans perennial All-Star bigs Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins engaged in a three-point shooting contest, with both men trading long-distance swishes and good-natured jawing on the Pacers’ home floor (Cousins appeared to emerge as the unofficial winner). The extra work paid dividends for both men later that evening, as the duo combined for 69 points vs. Indiana and shot a scorching 60.5 percent (26 of 43) from the field in a 117-112, come-from-behind victory.