For a second straight game, New Orleans was locked in a back-and-forth matchup on national TV that wasn’t decided until the final minutes. Despite playing the Mavericks fairly evenly – as they also had three nights earlier against the Raptors – the Pelicans again couldn’t pull off a victory. Dallas surged back from a 14-point first-half deficit, partly behind a 45-23 edge in the second quarter, in handing New Orleans a defeat in an ESPN game.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Dallas guard Delon Wright ripped the ball away from New Orleans for a clinching steal, leading to Mavericks free throws with 14 seconds left and a 121-116 edge.