Mavs Nearly Rally Back Against Pelicans After Luka Doncic Injury

The New Orleans Pelicans handily defeated the Dallas Mavericks as Luka Doncic exited the game early due to injury.

NEW ORLEANS — On the second night of a back-to-back, the Dallas Mavericks came up short against the New Orleans Pelicans with 113-106 being the final score. The Mavs' record dropped to 34-33, while the Pels improved to 32-34.

The Mavs get off to 14-6 start, but a lot went wrong for the rest of the way, Doncic often picking on the Pelicans' base pick-and-roll coverage. With sloppy defensive execution, Dallas failed to turn it into sustained momentum. It was tied 24-24 at the end of the frame.

The Pelicans used an 12-0 run at the start of the second quarter to overtake a 36-26 lead at the 8:07 mark. New Orleans maintained a double-figure advantage for much of the remainder of the quarter and outscored the Mavs by a 16-point margin overall. 

Facing the need to put together a strong stretch of play out of the break, the Mavs proved unable to make a meaningful run until later in the game. The Pelicans outscored Dallas by two points in the quarter to hold a 83-65 advantage entering the fourth. 

Doncic was ruled out for the remainder of the game midway through the third quarter, due to a left thigh contusion. He had been playing through pain and seemed to be fatigued in recent performances, but played in both parts of a back-to-back for the first time since December.

The Mavs had cut it to five with 5:05 left to play after outscoring the Pelicans by a 13-point margin to that point of the quarter. Dallas never managed to come closer than that given consistent late-game heroics from C.J. McCollum, who answered with big shot after big shot down the stretch.  He scored 16 of his 32 points in the final period alone. 

The Mavs return to action on Saturday when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies to wrap up a two-game road trip. 

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