The New Orleans Pelicans held off a late rally by the Dallas Mavericks to secure a 101-97 preseason victory on Wednesday at American Airlines Center, improving to 2-1 while handing Dallas its second consecutive home defeat.
New Orleans built an early advantage and maintained control for most of the game, leading 56-45 at halftime. The Pelicans extended their margin to 73-60 by the end of the third quarter, but Dallas mounted a fourth-quarter comeback that made the finish considerably closer.
Jeremiah Fears led the Pelicans with 16 points, five assists and three steals in 20 minutes. He shot 6-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, and helped New Orleans establish its offensive rhythm early.
Karlo Matkovic added 11 points, shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, while Zion Williamson scored 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance in 18 minutes. Williamson also recorded one assist as New Orleans maintained its advantage through three quarters.
Derik Queen contributed six points and 11 rebounds, including three offensive boards, giving the Pelicans a strong presence on the glass. Herbert Jones scored seven points, including a three-pointer, while Trey Murphy III finished with five points, three rebounds and three assists.
New Orleans shot 45% from the field and made eight of 27 three-point attempts. The Pelicans also converted 25 of 38 free throws, leaving room for improvement at the line despite doing enough to secure the victory.
Dallas struggled with its shooting for much of the night, finishing at 36% from the field and 20% from three-point range. The Mavericks made just 10 of 49 attempts from beyond the arc, a major obstacle as they tried to overcome their double-digit deficit.
[td_flex_block_1 category_id="" custom_title="MORE FOR YOU" header_color="#e91e63" td_filter_default_txt="" tag_slug="" sort="random_7_day" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXJpZ2h0IjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tbGVmdCI6IjI1IiwicGFkZGluZy10b3AiOiIxMSIsInBhZGRpbmctcmlnaHQiOiIyNSIsInBhZGRpbmctYm90dG9tIjoiMTEiLCJwYWRkaW5nLWxlZnQiOiIyNSIsImJhY2tncm91bmQtY29sb3IiOiIjZjNmNGY2IiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiIsIi0tdGRiLXNjcm9sbC1hbmltIjoibm9uZSJ9LCJwaG9uZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tcmlnaHQiOiIwIiwibWFyZ2luLWxlZnQiOiIwIiwicGFkZGluZy1yaWdodCI6IjE1IiwicGFkZGluZy1sZWZ0IjoiMTUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBob25lX21heF93aWR0aCI6NzY3fQ==" mx3f_title_font_transform="" mx3f_title_font_weight="700" title_tag="h3" all_modules_space="0" video_popup="" image_size="td_218x150" image_height="65" image_floated="eyJwaG9uZSI6ImZsb2F0X2xlZnQifQ==" autoplay_vid="" show_vid_t="none" modules_category="image" modules_category_margin="eyJhbGwiOiI1cHgiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjVweCJ9" modules_extra_cat="hide" show_author="none" show_date="none" show_com="none" show_review="none" show_excerpt="none" show_audio="none" show_btn="none" f_title_font_size="15" f_title_font_line_height="1.25" f_title_font_weight="600" f_title_font_spacing="-0.2" cat_bg="#e16e00" modules_divider="solid" category_ids="-4430,-5489,-11" show_cat="" modules_on_row="eyJhbGwiOiIzMy4zMzMzMzMzMyUiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjEwMCUifQ==" limit="3" meta_info_align="" modules_divider_color="#333333" image_width="eyJhbGwiOiIxMDAiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjQwIn0=" meta_info_border_color="" modules_border_color="" modules_gap="15" m_padding="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjE1cHggMHB4IDE1cHggMHB4In0=" art_title="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjBweCAwcHggMHB4IDE1cHgifQ==" video_icon="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjIwIn0=" f_cat_font_size="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjgifQ=="]John Poulakidas and Tobi Lawal led Dallas with 16 points each. Poulakidas shot 5-for-9 from the field and made four three-pointers, while Lawal went 4-for-6 from the floor and converted all eight of his free throws.
Seth Lundy added 13 points, and Sergio de Larrea contributed 10 points and six assists. Tarik Biberovic also scored eight points, but Dallas could not find enough consistent perimeter production to complete the comeback.
The Mavericks outscored New Orleans 34-26 in the fourth quarter and gradually cut into the deficit. After trailing 85-71 midway through the period, Dallas continued to apply pressure, with Lundy scoring late to bring the hosts within three points at 98-95 with 33.2 seconds remaining.
Jaron Pierre Jr. answered at the free-throw line to restore a five-point cushion. Poulakidas made a late two-point shot to cut the margin to three, but AJ Johnson converted a free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining to seal the four-point win for New Orleans.
The result moved the Pelicans to 2-1 in preseason play, including a 2-1 record on the road. Dallas fell to 1-2 overall and 0-2 at home.
