The New Orleans Pelicans entered Friday night’s contest with the Washington Wizards with no real margin for error. At 5-16, the Pelicans had put themselves in a hole early in the season and with the Western Conference struggling to start the season the Pelicans had to come up with as many wins as possible to stay close so they could push for the playoffs late in the season.
Thanks to 27 points from Tyreke Evans and a franchise record 16 three-pointers, New Orleans did just that by beating the Wizards 107-105. It wasn’t pretty though as New Orleans almost gave the game away on both ends of the floor with a late almost turnover, a missed free throw and bad defense that allowed Gary Neal an uncontested shot that would have tied the game at the buzzer.