Dallas Mavs vs. New Orleans Pelicans Round 2: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Seek NBA In-Season Tournament Win

The Dallas Mavericks are back in New Orleans to take on the Pelicans for the second time in three nights. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are hoping their "unselfish" brand of basketball can yield similar results to Sunday's blowout win ... especially since Tuesday's game in an NBA In-Season Tournament matchup.

NEW ORLEANS – Coming off a resounding blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks are right back at it for Round 2 on Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center. This time, though, there will be NBA In-Season Tournament implications.

Coming into tonight's game the Mavs are 1-1 in Group B, and the Pelicans are 0-1. Given that both teams are in the same group as the Denver Nuggets, each win is crucial for keeping pace with the defending champions. The winner of Group B will advance to the Knockout Rounds for a chance to advance to the semifinals, which will be held in Las Vegas.

After playing a mostly competitive game against the Pelicans in the first half on Sunday, the Mavs exploded in the second half and led by 29 points at one point in the fourth quarter. Not only did superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both get their scoring numbers up in limited time, scoring a combined 65 points while each playing less than 30 minutes, but the duo also "set the tone" by combining for 16 assists as well.

"I think we're playing unselfish basketball," Doncic said when asked about the Mavs' 8-2 start to the season. "We're just sharing the ball. We knew they would have the low-man early there, so there were a lot of corner 3s for us. We got them up, 53 [3-point attempts]. Not all of them, but most of them were really good shots. That's what we have to do [going forward]."

Dallas Mavs' Kyrie Irving attempts to steal the ball from New Orleans Pelcians' Zion Williamson / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

Pelicans star foward Zion Williamson, on the other hand, who finished with 18 points while being a -21 in 27 minutes on Sunday, didn't sound like a guy who is confident in his team's ability to stop its current five-game losing skid.

"It's tough right now, but like I said, I'm taking a little backseat right now and I'm trusting the process," Williamson said of the Pelicans' offensive struggles. "I'm trying my best to buy in right now."

Given the Pelicans' extensive injury list – which actually grew over the last 24 hours with veteran big man Larry Nance Jr. being ruled out Tuesday's game with broken ribs – the Mavs should be able to come away with their ninth win of the season if they can avoid committing silly turnovers. Dallas commits the second fewest turnovers in the league at 12.3 per game, which has been a big contributing factor to its 8-2 record.

Here's everything else you need to know about the game:

Mavericks vs. Pelicans Injury Report: Mavericks: Maxi Kleber (toe) is OUT. Pelicans: Jose Alvarado (ankle) is OUT. CJ McCollum (lung) is OUT. Trey Murphy III (knee) is OUT. Larry Nance Jr. (ribs) is OUT. Herbert Jones (fibula) is QUESTIONABLE.

RECORDS: Dallas Mavericks (8-2), New Orleans Pelicans (4-6)

WHERE: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, LA)

WHEN: Sunday, November 14, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. CT

TV: Bally Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass | RADIO: 97.1 The Freak

ODDS: Mavericks -3.5 | OVER/UNDER: 239.5

MAVS STEP BACK:

NEXT UP: The Mavs will catch a flight to Washington D.C. after Tuesday's game against the Pelicans to take on the Wizards on the second night of a back-to-back, as well as what will be their third game in four days. The last time Dallas played a back-to-back on Nov. 6 against the Orlando Magic, it came away with an impressive 15-point comeback win on the road. We'll see if Doncic, Irving and company can do it once more.

FINAL WORD: "He is just so smart," Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels said of trying to guard Doncic. "He uses his body well and he draws fouls. When he is making step-back 3s, it makes him tough to guard as well. He got the better of me tonight, but I am looking forward to the matchup Tuesday."