It was just two weeks ago that the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the visiting Dallas Mavericks 119-116.
But things have changed for both teams as the Mavericks visit the Pelicans again on Wednesday night.
The meeting on Jan. 15 marked a third consecutive loss for the Mavericks, but they have gone 3-3 since, including two wins against NBA-leading Oklahoma City. That last meeting also marked the second game of a season-best four-game winning streak for the Pelicans, but they have lost all three games since then.
Dallas didn’t have Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving for the last game in New Orleans, but Irving has since returned.
Against visiting Washington on Monday night, Irving had just 13 points but Klay Thompson made 7 of 12 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 23 points in a 130-108 victory. The Mavericks shot 53.3 percent from the floor, made 20 of 45 3-point attempts (44.4 percent) and had 39 assists on 49 field goals.
“It’s something we have to do to be successful with our best players out,” Thompson said of his team’s offensive efficiency. “We rely on Kyrie so much, as we should, because he’s one of the greatest iso scorers in the history of the game, but it’s on the rest of us to make it easier for him.”
Everything was easy for Thompson and his teammates against the Wizards. He tied Doncic’s franchise record for 3-pointers made in one quarter when he shot 7-of-10 from beyond the arc as Dallas raced to a 42-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Mavericks coasted to their first double-digit victory since beating the visiting Lakers 118-97 on Jan. 7.
“It just felt great because we needed a win where we put a team away early,” Thompson said. “It’s been a while since we had one, so it’s nice to kind of do that collectively.”
Dallas is beginning a five-game road trip Wednesday. It has lost six of its last seven away from home.
New Orleans completed a winless three-game road trip with a 113-104 loss at Toronto on Monday. The losses, including at Memphis and Charlotte, came by an average of 17.7 points.
The Pelicans shot 43.8 percent from the floor and just 6-of-28 on 3-pointers against Toronto. The 21.4 percent rate from deep was New Orleans’ second-lowest of the season.
“Offensively we just didn’t have our normal game that we’ve been having over the last 10 or so games,” head coach Willie Green said. “We got some quality looks. We just didn’t knock them down. Sometimes that happens. You’ve got to make some of those shots and finish some of those possessions.”
One Pelicans player who did knock down shots was forward Zion Williamson. He made 13 of 18 field-goal attempts and scored 31 points.
“He’s being ultra-aggressive, getting to the rim, getting downhill, getting us in the bonus early, which makes it easier on everybody else,” guard CJ McCollum said. “But we’ve got to make our free throws.”
New Orleans hit just 20 of 30 free throws, including 5 of 8 by Williamson and 2 of 4 by McCollum.
The Mavericks also defeated the Pelicans 132-91 on Nov. 19 in Dallas, where the teams will conclude the season series Feb. 21.
–Field Level Media
