Zion Williamson and Jordan Poole fueled a fourth-quarter surge, propelling the New Orleans Pelicans past the Dallas Mavericks and extending their impressive win streak.
The New Orleans Pelicans did not disappoint one of their biggest crowds of the season, pushing their win streak to five games after taking down the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 119-113.
This was a crucial one as the Mavericks are one of the teams competing with them for the Play-In tournament, which this team has renewed hopes for. They now sit at 8-22 and are 4.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers.
Major credit for this win goes to both Zion Williamson and Jordan Poole for their efforts in closing the game out, something neither has really done during this win streak. Both started this game on the bench.
Williamson had a team-high 24 points with nine rebounds and three assists. He shot 10-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. It was a vintage game where he just did whatever he wanted down the stretch.
Poole's impact on this win wasn't really what people would expect. He hit a couple of threes in the fourth, but his best moments came on the defensive side. There was a big charging foul drawn late as the Pelicans stormed back.
The Pelicans won the fourth-quarter battle 40-26, which was obviously big in a six-point win. Their performance dipped in the middle, but a strong start with an even stronger finish was enough to decide it.
New Orleans now leads the season series 2-1, with this being the most a team had won by yet.
One big difference in this game, compared to the other meetings this season, was Anthony Davis. The former Pelicans star received loud boos every time he touched the ball in this game, which happened frequently.
Davis has been playing great basketball since his return from injury, and that was no different in this game. For the first three quarters, he was getting pretty much whatever he wanted. New Orleans started to adjust defensively, and it helped them get back into it late.
The 32-year-old finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds.
Pelicans fans were especially bought in when it was Davis against new fan favorite Derik Queen. There was a moment early where Queen swiped the ball from Davis and the crowd erupted.
Queen had a great night himself, finishing with his fifth-career double-double. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Maybe more important than his matchup against Davis, was the fact that he outperformed former high school teammate and fellow rookie Cooper Flagg.