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New Orleans Pelicans hold off Dallas Mavericks 101-97: Fears scores 16, Zion perfect off the bench
Jeremiah Fears scored 16, Zion Williamson went 5-of-5 and the Pelicans forced 27 turnovers to hold off a late Mavericks push, 101-97, in preseason.
In this article
The New Orleans Pelicans held off the Dallas Mavericks 101-97 at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, October 14. Jeremiah Fears led New Orleans with 16 points, 5 assists and 3 steals, and Zion Williamson scored 10 on 5-of-5 shooting off the bench in front of 17,140 fans.
New Orleans led 24-18 after one quarter, 56-45 at halftime and 75-63 after three, and was in front for 89 percent of the game. Dallas won the fourth quarter 34-26 to make it close. Seth Lundy scored four straight points, including a dunk, to cut it to 98-95 with 33 seconds left, and John Poulakidas hit a short pull-up with 8.9 seconds to go to make it 100-97. Lundy’s 26-foot three at the buzzer missed, and AJ Johnson split two free throws with 0.4 seconds left to close it out.
How New Orleans won it
The Pelicans won with defense and speed. They forced 27 Dallas turnovers, had 14 steals and outscored the Mavericks 23-8 on the fast break and 50-38 in the paint. Dallas made only 10 of 49 threes.
Karlo Matkovic scored 11 with 3 of 4 from deep, and Jaron Pierre Jr. had 10 points in 12 minutes, including 3 free throws in the final 41 seconds. Derik Queen grabbed 11 rebounds, Yves Missi had 9 rebounds and 4 blocks, and Herbert Jones went 3-for-3 for 7. AJ Johnson scored 8 in 6 minutes.
Dallas’s side
John Poulakidas and Tobi Lawal led the Mavericks with 16 points each. Poulakidas made 4 of 8 threes, and Lawal went 8-for-8 at the line. Seth Lundy scored 13, Sergio de Larrea had 10 points and 6 assists, and Moussa Cisse scored 8 with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 16 minutes before sitting the second half with a left ankle sprain (full story).
Dallas won the boards 48-40, but P.J. Washington went 0-for-5 and Zaccharie Risacher 0-for-7 from three.
What’s next
The Pelicans are 2-1 in the preseason and host the Washington Wizards on Friday, October 16. The Mavericks fall to 1-2 and host the Atlanta Hawks the same night.
Full box score, play-by-play and shot chart: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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