LOUISINA – New Orleans Pelicans bucked the absence of several key players to defeat Dallas Mavericks, 113-111, in the 2022-2023 NBA Season on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Down 91-97 midway in the fourth quarter, the Pelicans rode on conversions from CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, Trey Murphy III and Devonte Graham to surge to a 109-102 lead.
Dallas rallied to within 111-112 behind back-to-back hits by Luka Doncic. New Orleans made it 113-111 on a split free throw by Graham but the Mavericks failed to snatch the win as Doncic missed his last-second heave.
Murphy top-scored with 24 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting, Naji Marshall added 15 markers, while McCollum had double-double 14 points and 11 assists for the Pelicans (3-1).
Graham also had 14 markers, Valanciunas and Jose Alvarado chipped in 13 points each, while Larry Nance Jr. and Dayson Daniels had 11 markers apiece for the Pelicans.
The Pelicans were shorthanded heading into the contest with starters Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herbert Jones out due to various injuries.
Doncic had 37 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood had 24 and 23 points, respectively, as the Mavericks dropped to 1-3.
Meanwhile, Washington Wizards (3-1) continued its fine start with a 120-98 beating of Detroit Pistons (1-3) at the Capital One Arena in Washington, District of Columbia.
From a close game midway in the second quarter, the Wizards leaned on consecutive baskets from Will Barton near the halftime break to establish a 56-49 advantage.
Washington’s lead reached double-digit but Detroit cut it to 91-100 before the Wizards pulled away late in the fourth quarter on conversions by Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma as the lead reached 22 points.
Kuzma top-scored for the Wizards with 25 points, Kriztaps Porzingis chipped in 20 markers, while Barton, Beal and Rui Hachimura ended with 16, 13 and 10 markers, respectively.
BOX SCORE:
NEW ORLEANS 113 — Murphy 24, Marshall 15, McCollum 14, Graham 14, Valanciunas 13, Alvarado 13, Daniels 11, Nance 11, Hayes 0.
DALLAS 111 — Doncic 37, Dinwiddie 24, Wood 23, McGee 8, Kleber 7, Finney-Smith 4, Bullock 3, Campazzo 3, Green 2.
Quarterscores: 40-31, 66-64, 87-89, 113-111./PN
