NEW ORLEANS — Nikola Mirotic scored 36 points, Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the pace-pushing New Orleans Pelicans continued their torrid start to the season with a 149-129 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 10 assists for the Pelicans, who shot 58.9 percent (56 of 95) and reached 110 points before the third quarter ended.

Julius Randle and Ian Clark each scored 13, and Randle also had 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which opened the season with a surprising 131-112 victory at Houston and has scored at least 30 points in each of its first eight quarters of play.

Mirotic hit three 3s in quick succession in the middle of the fourth quarter, the third a step-back shot from the right wing, drawing chants of “Ni-ko! Ni-ko!” from the crowd.

Willie Cauley-Stein scored 20 points and Marvin Bagley III had 19 for Sacramento, which has lost its first two games. De’Aron Fox and Frank Mason each scored 18 for the Kings, who shot 52.1 percent but simply could not keep up with the Pelicans, whose relentless style produced a slew of crowd-pleasing moments.

In the first half, Holiday lofted a right-handed lob that looked like a running hook to Davis, who soared to palm the ball with his right hand and slam it down in one motion.

Later, Davis grabbed an offensive rebound as he crashed to the court, and from his back flipped a pass to Holiday, who drove down the lane for a layup.

New Orleans finished with 16 3-pointers on 31 attempts from deep (51.6 percent).

HORNETS 120, MAGIC 88: Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Nicolas Batum added 15 to lead Charlotte at Orlando, Florida.

Miles Bridges had 15 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 12 as the Hornets beat the Magic for the 12th straight time. Charlotte limited Orlando to 33.3 percent shooting and 54 points in the first three periods.

Reserve Terrence Ross led the Magic with 14 points. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier had 12 points apiece for Orlando, which trailed by 20 at halftime and never got closer than 15 points in the second half.

NETS 107, KNICKS 105: Caris LeVert’s driving layup with a second left gave him a career-high 28 points as Brooklyn won at home.

LeVert surpassed the 27 points he scored Wednesday night in Detroit when the Nets fell just short. He made sure they pulled this one out, driving right into the lane and putting up the tie-breaking shot over Tim Hardaway Jr.

D’Angelo Russell and Jarrett Allen each added 15 points for the Nets.

TIMBERWOLVES 131, CAVALIERS 123: Jimmy Butler brushed off some early jeers from the jaded home crowd, scoring 33 points in 36 minutes to lead Minnesota past visiting Cleveland.

Andrew Wiggins pitched in with 22 points and Anthony Tolliver hit three 3-pointers off the bench to bolster a vintage all-around effort by the four-time All-Star Butler, who requested a trade last month.

Butler made 10 of 12 field goals and 12 of 12 free throws, with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.

GRIZZLIES 131, HAWKS 117: Newcomer Garrett Temple scored 30 points, rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. added 24 as Memphis built a first-half lead and coasted to a victory over visiting Atlanta.

Temple, picked up in a July trade from the Sacramento Kings, missed only one of his 11 shots, making 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Jackson, the fourth overall pick in last summer’s draft, was 8 of 12 from the floor as Memphis collected its first win of the young season.

Taurean Prince led the Hawks with 28 points.

BUCKS 118, PACERS 101: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 15 rebounds and Khris Middleton added 25 points to help Milwaukee win at home.

Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 25 points, and Doug McDermott added 14.

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