One of the poorest shooting performances of the 2015-16 season resulted in a New Orleans defeat in frustrating fashion Wednesday, against a short-handed Dallas team that was resting several of its primary contributors. Twenty-four hours after a double-overtime win over Sacramento, the Mavericks opted to rest starters Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews and Zaza Pachulia, but the likes of Chandler Parsons, J.J. Barea and an array of lesser-known names were enough to post a road victory. Even with some of their top guns on the sideline, the Mavs still put five players in double-figure scoring. The Pelicans shot just 37 percent from the field, barely clearing their season low of 36.2 percent. New Orleans will wrap up a brief two-game homestand Friday vs. Indiana.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Dallas guard Raymond Felton buried a deep two-point jumper with 1:15 remaining, giving the Mavericks a 91-83 lead, then nailed a desperation trey with 41 seconds to go, making it 94-85. New Orleans led by a narrow margin for much of the first half, but Dallas gradually took the upper hand in the third quarter, going up 71-68. The Mavs outplayed the Pelicans for a long stretch of the fourth period, to eventually build a 14-point edge.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Anthony Davis brought intensity from the get-go, racking up 18 points in the first half, but didn’t have the shooting touch he’s usually displayed in recent games. Still, Davis accounted for a large chunk of the offense, one of only two Pelicans to crack double digits by the end of the third quarter. The two-time All-Star finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but was 11 of 25 from the field. He played all but 5:36 of the game.
PELICANS UNSUNG CONTRIBUTOR
Eric Gordon continued his recent run of accuracy from three-point distance, canning four of his seven attempts. That gave him eight trifectas over the past three games. Gordon was one of the few things working well on offense, particularly early, totaling 14 points in 23 minutes. He was 5-for-9 on field goals, the only Pelican to make more than half of his shots.
