Pelicans 101, Kings 95
Eric Gordon scored 21 points and Anthony Davis added 20 points and 10 rebounds as New Orleans notched a pivotal victory over host Sacramento.
Tyreke Evans had 19 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Pelicans, who moved within a half-game of Oklahoma City for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Quincy Pondexter made a career-best six 3-pointers for 18 points.
DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points, 20 rebounds, a career-best 13 assists and four blocked shots for the Kings, who have lost four consecutive contests. Omri Casspi and Ben McLemore scored 17 points apiece and Ray McCallum added 14 points.
The Pelicans scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to build a 10-point lead but the Kings rallied to within 91-89 on Casspi’s basket with 4:13 left. Evans drove for a hoop to make it 99-93 with 52.3 seconds left and Gordon added two free throws with 32.9 seconds to play as New Orleans won its fourth straight game.
Pondexter made five first-half 3-pointers to help the Pelicans possess a 56-42 lead at the break. Davis’ basket with 6:20 left in the third quarter gave New Orleans an 18-point lead before the Kings ripped out the next 16 points and the Pelicans took a 74-71 lead into the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kings SF Rudy Gay (concussion) sat out for the second consecutive game. … C Omer Asik collected 11 rebounds to help the Pelicans hold a 50-38 edge on the boards. … Cousins has 23 assists over the past two games and has grabbed 20 or more rebounds in each of his last three games.