Wes Matthews' three-pointer at the buzzer was off and the Pelicans came away with a 121-118 win over the Mavericks in New Orleans.
DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis combined to score 59 points, grab 19 rebounds and dish out eight assists. They also made 18-of-20 free throws. The Pelicans have won five-of-seven to improve to 32-and-43.
Dirk Nowitzki tallied 23 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Dallas is 31-and-43.
Both teams are mathematically alive for the playoffs, but are unlikely to jump in the top eight of the Western Conference. The Pelicans are 4.5 games behind Portland in the race for the eighth seed in the NBA West.
"I think overall we found a way to grind it out and win," Alvin Gentry said after the contest. "I thought we shot the ball well. I thought that you could see a glimpse of what DeMarcus and Anthony are going to be able to do together as we spend more time figuring out spacing and things like that. So at the end of the day, we won and that’s what counts.”
“They for sure have a groove,' said guard Jrue Holiday of the play of Cousins and Davis. "They pass to each other like they’ve done this before. Things are a lot easier when you see a person diving, one person popping, and they’re definitely figuring that out, and it makes it easier.”