New Orleans Hornets forward Ryan Anderson, the team's leading scorer, sat out Tuesday night's game versus the Brooklyn Nets with the flu. His teammates missed him, as the Nets pulled away from the Hornets late, handing New Orleans a 108-98 loss.

Anderson's ability to stretch the floor opens up the paint for the Hornets. Without that element, New Orleans didn't get to the free throw line enough. The Hornets were 13-15 from the charity stripe. Brooklyn was 23-31. Despite being shorthanded, coach Monty Williams wasn't  going to make excuses.

"We had a chance to win. We tied it up twice," said Williams. "We had breakdowns...to make excuses about what we don't have, I'm not into that. We had a number of guys out there who competed tonight."

One of those guys was rookie Anthony Davis, who continues to shine, even in defeats. His double-double stat line of 17 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 assists, and 1 steal is becoming the norm. His length effected many of Brooklyn's jump shots, and his movement on pick and rolls has improved drastically since early in the season. Despite a good game, Davis was shouldering blame for the loss.

"80% of it is my fault," said Davis. "Maybe even 90%. I did a bad job of boxing out. I didn't stop guys from getting offensive rebounds."

While Davis wasn't 80% responsible for the loss, he and the rest of teammates did gave up too many boards. The Nets finished with 19 offensive rebounds, proving to be the difference in a 10 point defeat.

Greivis Vasquez added a double-double (15 points, 14 assists), while Eric Gordon led the team in scoring with 24.

The Hornets will now travel to the Nation's capital for a Friday night matchup with the Washington Wizards. Tip-off is set for 7:00.

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