The Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins version of the Pelicans fell to 0-and-2 as the Mavericks cruised, 96-83, in Dallas.
Harrison Barnes scored 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 plus nine rebounds. The Mavs outscored the Pelicans by 19 over the final three quarters to take the win. Nerlens Noel had nine points and 10 rebounds in his Dallas debut.
Davis finished with 39 points and 14 rebounds, and Cousins added 12 points, 15 boards, six assists and three steals. The Pelicans are 23-and-36 overall.
Turnovers were a factor in the contest. The Pels turned the ball over 20 times leading to 20 points by Dallas.
“I thought we started the game well and I thought we did a good job of throwing the ball out versus their double teams but the bottom line is that we just turned the ball over way too much," Coach Alvin Gentry said.
"If we are going to have 20 turnovers for 20 points we are not going to win the game. That is just the facts in the league. Many of our turnovers are unforced turnovers so we just have to be able to manage that and we have to be able to knock down some shots. But we are not going to be able to go anywhere until we solve the turnover thing. We play well but we just make bad turnovers and we just have to do a better job at it."