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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Greivis Vasquez hit a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left, leading New Orleans to an 88-86 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night even though the Hornets played without rookie center Anthony Davis for the second half.
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Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, left with 4:51 to play in the first half after taking an inadvertent elbow to the temple from fellow rookie and teammate Austin Rivers. Davis had eight points - all on dunks - six rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Hornets declared him out at halftime and said they were checking him for a concussion.
Vasquez, who had 13 points and 10 assists, drove past Gordon Hayward, who fell to the floor, and banked in a short shot over Al Jefferson. Utah had a chance to win after calling a 20-second timeout, but Mo Williams' fallaway 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Robin Lopez and Ryan Anderson both had 19 points for the Hornets. Anderson's fifth 3-pointer with 32.7 seconds left gave them an 84-83 lead. After two free throws extended the lead to 86-83, Utah's Paul Millsap drained a 3-pointer to tie it and set up Vasquez' finish.
Reserve Randy Foye had 20 points for Utah while Williams added 16.
Anderson, who made an NBA-best 166 3-pointers for the Orlando Magic last season, got open on the baseline to hit what appeared like it might be the game-winner when Utah missed two shots on its next possession.
Instead, Paul Millsap responded with a 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity from the wing with 7.1 seconds left. He was 18 of 74 from 3-point range in his first six seasons in the NBA.
The Hornets closed it out without Davis, who scored 21 points in his debut on Wednesday in the Hornets' 99-95 loss to San Antonio. At least for one half, they did not miss him, scoring 34 of their 48 second-half points in the paint.
New Orleans relied on the combination of Vasquez and Lopez in the fourth quarter. Vasquez scored and had two consecutive assists as the Hornets turned a 70-67 deficit into a 73-70 lead. Lopez had a point-blank putback, a hook shot and a follow tip of his own missed putback to give New Orleans an 81-77 lead with 4:01 left.
Foye hit a 3-pointer - his fourth of the game - to make it 81-80. Millsap drove for a dunk to give the Jazz an 82-81 lead, and seconds later, Vasquez was called for a charge.
After a replay reversal gave Utah the ball with 1:10 left, Hayward hit one of two free throws with 52.4 seconds left.
Foye blocked Roger Mason's outside shot out of bounds, leading to a New Orleans timeout and setting up Anderson's shot from the corner.
Before leaving, Davis made two spectacular plays, following a missed floater by Vasquez with a one-handed jam and driving through the lane for an emphatic dunk when no one picked him up.
Notes: Talking before the game, Hornets coach Monty Williams would not confirm a report by Yahoo! Sports that G Eric Gordon would miss 4-to-6 weeks with a right knee injury that limited him to nine games last season. Said Williams: "We're still processing information. We haven't talked to any doctors. We certainly haven't talked to our doctors on a day we're getting ready for a game." ... The Jazz began a stretch with eight of 10 games on the road after going 11-22 away from home last season. ... Neither team shot a free throw until Vasquez hit one with 3:32 left in the first half. Utah's first foul shot came with 1:26 left in the half.
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