NEW ORLEANS -- Even after scoring 45 points for the second time in less than a month, the simpler times of Anthony Davis' rookie season don’t feel too far away. Back then, when his trademark brow made up the largest percentage of hair on his face, a big night meant finishing above his modest 13.5-point scoring average.

“My rookie year, I was like, ‘I just want to get 20,’” he said.

My, how things have changed.

Davis said a Pelicans personnel member told him Wednesday, “If I don’t get 30 I play bad.” His response to such a claim, he said, is always the same:

“Did we get the win, though? If we get the win, then I’m good.”

That wasn’t the case at the start of the season. Davis dropped 50 in the opener, and the Pelicans lost. He had 45 the next night out, and the Pelicans lost. There were nights of 35, 33 and 34, too, as New Orleans lost its first eight games and found itself on the brink of once again becoming a permanent resident of the Western Conference’s basement.

Anthony Davis got chants of "M-V-P!" from the home crowd as his 45-point effort helped the Pelicans to a fourth consecutive victory. Matt Bush/USA TODAY Sports

That has changed, too. One night after pouring it on Atlanta’s top-ranked defense, the Pelicans blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves -- the team that was supposed to usurp their place as the NBA's en vogue upstart -- 117-96 at the Big Blender. The victory brought them to 4-0 since the return of Jrue Holiday and marked their first four-game winning streak since Alvin Gentry took over in the summer of 2015.

“Any time you win or any time you have a winning streak, you’re kind of in a groove and you’re feeling good as a team,” Holiday said. “It always feels great. Obviously, with where we are in the standings, in the Western Conference, it feels good just to be included back in it.”

Holiday's impact on the team has been big. On Wednesday, the Pelicans moved the ball, posting 27 assists. Their already solid defense held the Wolves to 38.4 percent shooting from the floor. And the team, which ranks third-to-last in 3-point shooting this season, shot 38 percent from beyond the arc, though Holiday was 0-for-2.

Still, the Pelicans' turnaround doesn’t happen without Davis’ climb to another stratosphere this season.

Davis, who opened the night third in the NBA in scoring and first in blocked shots, finished with 45 points (17-for-27), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and a long list of benchmarks reached, including his third game this season -- and the 10th in his career -- of 40 points and 10 rebounds.

The rest of the league has just one such game.

“I’m amazed every time by the shots he’s able to do it [through] double-teams and triple-teams,” point guard Tim Frazier said. “It’s an MVP performance.”

That’s certainly how the crowd felt, as those in attendance serenaded Davis with “M-V-P” chants more than once.

“The first couple times you block it out, but then it gets louder and louder, so you kind of hear it,” Davis said. “In the past, every time I hear it I kind of, like, get happy or something, and I miss the free throw. So now you hear it, and I just try to concentrate on making the free throw.”

When the Pelicans defeated the Sacramento Kings on April 3, 2015, marking the last time they won a fourth straight game, Eric Gordon was the high scorer, with 21 points. Davis finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

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Holiday, though sidelined at the time, is one of the remaining healthy core pieces left on the Pelicans who could speak to Davis’ growth.

But as Holiday wryly pointed out after the game, you don’t need to have much of an expertise in Davis’ personal history to realize the obvious: He’s playing better than ever before.

“Everybody could say that,” Holiday said. “My man can score on 10 people.”