Pelicans 95, Grizzlies 89
Tyreke Evans had 26 points and seven assists to help host New Orleans win for the seventh time in nine games.
Anthony Davis registered 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Pelicans, who overcame an 18-point first-half deficit. Eric Gordon added 16 points and reserve Norris Cole tallied seven of his 12 in the fourth quarter.
Jeff Green led Memphis with 20 points and Mike Conley added 17. Tony Allen contributed seven points, eight rebounds and six steals while star big men Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined to score 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
The Pelicans had nine turnovers in the first quarter to help spot the Grizzlies a 25-18 lead and Memphis scored the first eight points in the second to go up 15 points before settling for a 50-38 halftime advantage. Evans had a pair of layups in a 7-0 burst out of the locker room and Gordon had the first six points of an 8-0 run later in the stanza to put New Orleans up 62-57.
Beno Udrih's jumper with 7:20 left in the game gave the Grizzlies a momentary lead before Cole and Alexis Ajinca had all the points in a 9-4 surge that left the hosts with an 86-82 lead approaching the four-minute mark. Gordon answered Conley's 3-pointer with one of his own to make it 91-87 with 1:52 to go and the Pelicans made four foul shots in the final 24 seconds to hang on.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pelicans C Omer Asik led all players with 11 rebounds to help his team narrowly win the rebounding battle 41-39. ... Grizzlies SG Nick Calathes had nine points and a season high-tying seven assists and fellow reserve Udrih added 11 points. ... Davis is averaging 30.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in three games since returning from a shoulder injury.