ATLANTA -- New Orleans forward Anthony Davis suffered a contusion above his right kneecap after he smacked his knee on a seat while diving four rows deep into the stands in the first quarter of the Pelicans' 112-94 win over the Hawks on Tuesday night.
He ultimately returned in the fourth quarter, after X-rays taken on the knee were negative.
Davis was listed as probable for Wednesday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"It is scary because you never know what's going to happen," Davis said Tuesday. "The way I play, I just leave it out on the floor, so I can't control myself when that stuff happens. It's just instinctive. I just go out there and play as hard as I can. If it happened again tomorrow, I'd probably do it again, to be honest."
Davis was initially designated in the second quarter as questionable to return. Following the X-rays, the Pelicans' medical staff performed treatment on the knee in an effort to get Davis back on the court.
After missing the entirety of the second and third quarters, Davis checked back into the game to start the fourth quarter, with the Pelicans leading the Hawks 95-71. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said the decision to reinsert Davis into a blowout was largely to determine how the Pelicans' star might perform in Wednesday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in New Orleans (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET).
"He came back out and said he could go, and so we stuck him in the game for a few minutes," Gentry said. "We wanted to see if he'd be OK for [Wednesday]."
Davis showed no ill effects, scoring seven points in 10 minutes in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 13 points, on 6 for 12 shooting, and added three rebounds and three blocks in 19 total minutes. Following the game, Davis pulled a compression sleeve over his right leg and the bloodied, quarter-sized wound atop his knee.
Davis suffered a right thigh contusion on Nov. 15 in a home victory over the Boston Celtics that forced him to sit out the Pelicans' loss to the Orlando Magic two days later. It was his only missed game this season.
Despite playing much of the game without Davis, the Pelicans turned in one of their most impressive performances of the season in only their second road win. New Orleans, which at one juncture in the third quarter led Atlanta by 35 points, notched its third consecutive victory and shot above 50 percent for the second time this season.
The streak has coincided with the return of guard Jrue Holiday, who scored 15 points and contributed four assists in 27 minutes on Tuesday, after missing the Pelicans' first dozen games. Tim Frazier led all scorers with 26 points -- matching a career high -- and added a career-high 14 assists. Terrence Jones, who was battling an illness prior to the game, contributed 17 points.
"For us, we just have to do all the little things," Davis said. "You know, diving on the floor -- obviously not into the stands -- but rebounding the basketball, boxing out, all the little things that matter."
ESPN's Justin Verrier contributed to this report.