In the last game of a two-game miniseries, the Pelicans easily defeated the Mavs, despite Luka Doncic’s uncharacteristically subpar effort.

brand-new orleans Tuesday’s loss for the Dallas Mavericks came after their impressive victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, 131-110. Following their defeat, the Mavs finished the season at 8-3 and had a 1-2 record in NBA In-Season Tournament play.

The Pelicans packed the paint by pre-rotating off of unimpressive shooting options and putting full-court pressure on Luka Doncic, making it extremely difficult for the Mavs to operate offensively in the half-court. Dallas failed to get into the paint to make a play without overcompensating with perimeter shooting and turned the ball over frequently. 

The Pelicans did not start out with the momentum, though. Throughout the first quarter, the Mavs had a five-point lead at one point, but New Orleans quickly gained the upper hand. After taking a 7-2 lead at 9:10 in the first quarter, Dallas was outscored 31-19 the rest of the way, falling down 33-26. 

The Mavs had only committed six turnovers collectively in their victory over the Pelicans on Sunday, but they had committed a massive seven in the first quarter alone, with Doncic being responsible for six of them. In only the first half, New Orleans scored an astounding thirty points on fast breaks and gave up sixteen points due to turnovers.

The Mavericks have been a strong team in the second half of the season, but after giving up a game-high 44 points in the third quarter, they found it even harder to control the Pelicans. Dallas scored 31 points during their highest-scoring quarter, but their inability to get stops proved to be too much to overcome. 

Halfway through the third quarter, Zion Williamson dunked the ball twice in a row to give the Pelicans a game-high 23-point advantage. New Orleans kept up its impressive play, outscoring the Mavs by as much as 29 points on multiple occasions, including the conclusion of the third quarter.

With another game to play in less than a day, the Mavs appeared to have decided that giving up was the wise course of action with Jaden Hardy, Seth Curry, Dante Exum, Josh Green, and Richaun Holmes on the court to start the fourth quarter. At one point, the Pelicans had a 33-point lead. 

The Mavs will play the Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks to wrap up their four-game road trip before hosting the Sacramento Kings for a single game on the second night of a back-to-back before going on the road once more.