Points, rebounds, blocks, wins: Anthony Davis kicks up his MVP résumé

11:39 PMAnthony Davis isn’t a fringe MVP candidate. He’s not a feel-good story MVP candidate. The New Orleans Pelicans superstar is a bona fide MVP candidate. The award is still Houston Rockets guard James Harden’s to lose, but there’s no denying what Davis is doing right now. On Monday night, Davis willed his squad to a sixth straight victory, a 125-116 win over the Phoenix Suns (who were led by 3-point champion Devin Booker’s 40 points).

Davis once again compiled NBA2K numbers: 53 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks while shooting 55 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line. In his past five games, Davis has averaged 36 points and 13 rebounds. And on the season, Davis is second in the league in scoring at 27.7 points per game (trailing only Harden’s 31.5) and in blocks with 2.2, grabbing 11 rebounds per night while shooting 53 percent from the floor and 82 percent from the charity stripe. Davis is doing all this, of course, without fellow superstar big man DeMarcus Cousins, who went down last month with a torn Achilles.

The Pelicans are currently fifth in a tight Western Conference. Only 2.5 games separate the third through eighth seeds. Looking ahead, if Davis can somehow will the Pelicans to the third seed, there’s a legit discussion to be had about an MVP award that previously looked like it’d be spending the postseason and offseason in Houston.