Mavericks start road trip with close win over Pelicans, 137-136
![Jan 29, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) dribbles against New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Jan 29, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) dribbles against New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2969,h_1670,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/dallas_basketball/01jjtmadpn98jn0dkv35.jpg)
The Dallas Mavericks started a five-game road trip on Wednesday night, traveling to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans. These teams just played in New Orleans two weeks ago, with the game ending on a missed goaltend that could've won the game for Dallas. The Mavericks were still without Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II, while the Pelicans were missing Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones.
With those starters out, Dallas started Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford, while New Orleans rolled with Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, and Yves Missi.
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Zion Williamson and Klay Thompson each got off to solid starts for their respective teams, as the Pelicans and Mavericks traded buckets early on. Thanks to eight points each from Williamson and Trey Murphy III, they were able to weather Thompson knocking in his first two three-pointers as New Orleans held a slim two-point lead.
P.J. Washington's strong shoulder helped create some opportunities inside, and a Kyrie Irving steal led to a run-out for an Olivier-Maxence Prosper transition slam to take the lead late in the first quarter. They'd carry that to a 35-32 lead by the end of the quarter, with help to a three from Naji Marshall, who returned from a four-game absence from an illness.
Jaden Hardy and Olivier-Maxence Prosper would come off the bench to give the Mavs some great energy, with Hardy knocking in a few three-pointers. That helped Dallas take a lead of seven a few times.
Turnovers were starting to pile up for the Mavs, though, as they had 11 in the first 24 minutes. After going up 54-47, two turnovers by Quentin Grimes and Kyrie Irving allowed New Orleans to go on an 8-0 run to retake the lead. That was just part of a 16-3 run to close the half for the Pelicans, as they'd take a 63-57 lead into halftime, fueled by 15 points from Trey Murphy III and 13 points from Zion Williamson.
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New Orleans opened the second half with a bucket to initially stretch the lead to eight, the largest it had been all game, but a 9-0 run soon after that by the Mavericks helped them retake the lead, getting four quick points from Daniel Gafford. That lead would be short-lived, though, as Zion Williamson would score eight straight points for the Pelicans, and Dejounte Murray would close off a 9-4 spurt with a three to give the Pelicans a two-point advantage again.
Dejounte Murray would extend the Pelicans' lead back up to seven, but as the third quarter had been, Dallas would have a run of their own. Over the final four minutes, they'd outscore the Pelicans 18-7 behind nine points from Quentin Grimes and five from Spencer Dinwiddie. That helped Dallas take a 97-93 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks would pick up where they left off initially, with P.J. Washington hitting a corner three to go up by seven in the opening seconds. But New Orleans had an 8-0 run in the minute following that, hitting two three-pointers early in the shot clock to retake the lead and force a timeout from Jason Kidd.
Dallas came out of that timeout firing, though. A 12-2 run gave the Mavs a 10-point lead, as P.J. Washington knocked in two threes and Klay Thompson hit one as well. Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray helped New Orleans stay in it, cutting the lead down to five with about four minutes to play.
Zion Williamson would hit two free throws to cut the lead down to three, but P.J. Washington hit a massive three to go back up by six, followed by Quentin Grimes hitting one from the corner to go up by nine. Kyrie Irving would hit the dagger with a lefty lay-in to go up by 10 with 1:19 to go, and Dallas should've been able to coast to the finish. But they made things difficult.
An 8-1 run by the Pelicans in the final 50 seconds left them down three with 15.9 seconds to go. That stretch featured a missed free throw from Kyrie Irving, a bad pass turnover from Klay Thompson, and a few missed chances at a defensive rebound, leading to Dejounte Murray getting a second-chance three-pointer. Spencer Dinwiddie went 1/2 from the line with 11.4 seconds to go, still giving the Pelicans a small glimmer of hope. CJ McCollum's three-point shot from the corner would hit off the side of the backboard but would hit the follow-up in the final second, but Dallas would win 137-136.
Both teams were red-hot shooting the ball in this game, as they were both above 53% from the floor and 45% from three. Dallas had 18 turnovers to New Orleans' 8, but it ended up not mattering at the end.
The Mavericks had four players score 20+ points: P.J. Washington (25 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists), Kyrie Irving (25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists), Daniel Gafford (22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks), and Klay Thompson (20 points, 6/11 3PT). Quentin Grimes (17 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (11 points, 7 assists) were also in double figures.
New Orleans was led by Trey Murphy III's 32 points, followed by Zion Williamson (29 points), Dejounte Murray (27 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds), CJ McCollum (23 points, 8 assists), Brandon Boston (12 points), and Jose Alvarado (11 points).
Dallas is back on the road on Friday against the Detroit Pistons.
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