After having the last couple of nights off, the New Orleans Pelicans headed to Dallas on Tuesday to play the Mavericks in Group East C Play of the Emirates NBA Cup. The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead and never let their lead dwindle as the Pelicans fell to 4-11 on the season and 1-6 on the road with the 132-91 loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Luka Doncic scored the first couple of buckets by picking the pocket of Brandon Ingram and then poking away his pass to Trey Murphy.
The Mavericks jumped to a 20-6 lead less than halfway into the opening quarter. Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving knocked down a three-pointer, then Doncic made a floater and Derek Lively had an east dunk to extend Dallas’ lead.
New Orleans got a spark from Jeremiah Robinson-Earl coming off of the bench. Robinson Earl scored eight out of the Pelicans’ next 11 points with a couple of shots from downtown and a mid-range jumper. In between the scoring opportunities by JRE, there were eight consecutive shots made from both sides. Quentin Grimes concluded the opening quarter with a three to put the Mavs up 44-29.
Following a Murphy three-ball, Dallas went on an 11-0 run. Four of the five made shots were from seven feet and closer while Doncic hit a step back wing three to put the Mavericks ahead by 23 points with under eight minutes to play in the first half.
The Pelicans responded with a 12-4 run over the next five minutes. Four players scored on the run including Ingram with a shot from distance and Javonte Green with a midrange shot and a couple of free throws to make it a 59-44 game with 2:44 to go.
Murphy had the final five points for New Orleans with three free throws and a running floater with a minute left. Doncic couldn’t make the full-court heave but the Mavericks went into the half ahead of the Pelicans 63-51.
Dallas broke the game loose in the third quarter with the three-ball from multiple players. Thompson knocked down three shots from downtown and found Lively for the hook shot before being subbed out. P.J. Washington had a putback layup while Doncic got into the paint a couple more times.
Ingram and Brandon Boston Jr made back-to-back threes midway through the quarter but Irving responded a couple of minutes later with a pair the shots from downtown. Former Pelican Naji Marshall also joined the with a three and a couple of shots from the charity stripe while Daniel Gafford attacked the paint with back-to-back dunks. Dallas was ahead by 28 points at the end of the third quarter.
Marshall continued to score early in the fourth and Doncic broke the game open before being subbed out by making a step-back and transition three-pointer at the 7:58 mark. Dallas subbed out the remainder of the starters with the game well in hand. The bench players for both teams eventually subbed in as Dallas’ defense continued to force turnovers and turn those into easy points with the game well in hand.
The final sounded and the New Orleans Pelicans officially lost 132-91 to the Dallas Mavericks.
BIG NUMBER: 56
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson are the headliners for the Dallas Mavericks as they did their part, combining to score 63 points. It was the bench points however that stood out as Dallas scored 56 compared to New Orleans’ 28. The Pels also turned the basketball over 20 times in the loss.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Luka Doncic
Luka had a positive impact on both ends of the floor on Tuesday. The Maverick superstar finished the night with 26 points 10-16 shooting. Doncic also had five assists, five rebounds, and recorded three steals as the Mavericks crushed the Pelicans 132-91.
UP NEXT: The New Orleans Pelicans (4-11) will travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers. Tipoff inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is set for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20th.
