The Advocate/Nathan Brown

Whenever and however the Pelicans eventually lose Anthony Davis, there will be no real way to replace him. No pieces they receive in a trade, and no draft pick is likely to walk in and pick up right where Davis left off in terms of production — a dominant big who can play anywhere on the floor and can be trusted to haul in 10 rebounds and score 25 points every night.

And on a night with Davis out of the lineup completely, as he continues to nurse debilitating back spasms that have kept him out of each of the past two games, his absence could have been even more glaring, with the Pelicans without hardly any depth at guard with Frank Jackson, Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore all out with various injuries.

But Thursday, New Orleans got a taste of the potential they have growing in the reserves at the forward slot and their ability to carry a team. With the likes of Julius Randle, Christian Wood and Jahlil Okafor flashing their versatility, the home team came away with a rare win, holding on late to down the Sacramento Kings, 121-118.

“We’ve been doing a good job of competing for the most part, and it felt good to be on the right side,” Randle said. “There’s no excuses. We’ve got to make the best of the situation.”

As he had in eight of the Pelicans’ past 11 games entering Thursday, Julius Randle led the squad with 34 points while knocking down 3-of-5 3-pointers and finishing 7 for 7 at the free-throw line to go with 11 rebounds. As he often has been down the stretch, Randle provided the early energy in the first quarter with 10 early points that helped push the Pelicans out to a 30-26 lead at the end of the first, where the team led by as many as nine.

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