Mavericks 98, Pelicans 89
NEW ORLEANS -- Guard Raymond Felton scored a team-high 22 points and forward Chandler Parsons scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half to lift the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks to a 98-89 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center.
Playing the night after a double-overtime victory over Sacramento, the Mavericks (21-15) rested four starters – forward Dirk Nowitzki, center Zaza Pachulia and guards Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams -- but held the Pelicans to 36 percent shooting to pull out the victory.
The quartet of rested players normally account for 55 percent of Dallas' scoring, but their absence did not matter.
The Mavericks placed three other players in double figures: forward Dwight Powell (13), guard J.J. Barea (11) and guard Devin Harris (10).
New Orleans (11-23) was led by forward Anthony Davis, who scored 18 points in the first half but was held to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting in the second half. Guard Tyreke Evans added 15 points for New Orleans.
Dallas outscored the Pelicans 9-2 to open the fourth quarter to take an 80-70 lead. Forward Dwight Powell had a dunk and 15-foot jumper and guard J.J. Barea added a 3-pointer from the right wing to do the damage.
The Pelicans closed within 91-85 with 67 seconds left, but Felton made a desperation 3-pointer that just beat the shot clock to ice the victory.
Barea added another 3-pointer and Felton responded with another long range jumper as Dallas extended its lead to 86-72 with 5:40 left.
The Mavericks trailed 61-53 midway through the third quarter when Gordon hit a 3-pointer, capping an 11-4 New Orleans run.
But the Mavericks then outscored New Orleans 18-5 in the next six minutes, taking a 71-66 lead on Justin Anderson's 3-pointer and a layup by Raymond Felton. Davis failed to score in the third quarter for the Pelicans, missing all four of his shots.
Parsons, who was questionable before the game with a sore hip, kept the short-handed Mavericks in the game almost single-handedly in the first half, scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Parsons twice pump-faked Davis on the perimeter and then dribbled in for easy layups, forcing Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry to call a quick timeout.
Davis had 18 first-half points on 7-of-14 shooting, but his teammates shot only a combined 11 of 36. The only other Pelican giving Davis offensive support was Gordon, who made three 3-pointers in the half, and the Pelicans led 50-49.
NOTES: Coming off a 117-116 win in double overtime over Sacramento on Tuesday night, the Mavericks rested four starters who logged 40-plus minutes -- F Dirk Nowitzki, C Zaza Pachulia, G Wesley Matthews and G Deron Williams. The four have accounted for 56.0 points per game, nearly 55 percent of the Mavericks' 102.0 scoring average. "It's a decision based somewhat on last night's game but also probably more on the schedule in general," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. ... Dallas F Chandler Parsons played despite a sore hip. ... Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry took little solace in Dallas being short-handed. "We've got to try to find a way to string together some wins," Gentry said. "We're in a situation where we have to win games." ... Pelicans F Quincy Pondexter (left knee) is close to returning. ... Gentry said the Pelicans have discussed possible trades, but nothing is imminent. "We've talked about a few things. People have talked to us about a few things," he said.