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Mavs hold off Pelicans

Nov 2, 2014 - 6:28 AM New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chandler Parsons led a balanced attack with 20 points and six Mavericks reached double figures in Dallas' 109-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis both scored 17 for Dallas, winners in two straight following an opening night loss at the hands of the defending- champion Spurs.

Despite the loss, it was another dominant performance from the league's best young player, Anthony Davis, who finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. Jrue Holiday scored 24 points and Tyreke Evans narrowly missed a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

"(Davis) is a great player and he stuffs the stat sheet," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle admitted.

After a pick-and-roll led to an uncontested Davis jam to start the game, Dallas ran off nine straight points. Parsons hit two free throws later in the period to extend the lead to 20-10 before the Pelicans settled down and countered with the next eight.

The margin shrunk to one after Ryan Anderson's triple at 2:21, but the Mavs stayed in front and led by six after the first.

Midway through the second, Parsons followed Ellis' three-point play with a long ball, and the lead was 53-38. It ballooned to 17 points late in the half before Evans beat the buzzer with a deep 3 that cut the Pelicans' halftime deficit to 66-52.

The third quarter told a different story, as the Pelicans came out of the locker rooms scorching hot. Evans was the catalyst, going for 16 points on 6- of-9 shooting in the frame, while Davis contributed 10.

The 14-point halftime spread vanished 6 1/2 minutes into the third, with Davis hitting a jumper as part of a 15-0 run that tied it at 72. Holiday capped the surge with a 3-pointer, and the New Orleans had the lead at 75-72 with 4:55 left.

Devin Harris hit a triple with 0.9 seconds left, but the hosts still led 89-86 going to the final quarter.

"Second half we played great defensively," said Davis. "I think we played great in that second half."

But the veteran-led Mavericks regained their composure in the fourth. An 8-0 run that Brandan Wright capped with an emphatic slam dunk gave them the lead back, and the Pelicans never recovered. Parsons hit a back-breaking triple from the top of the key midway through the period for a 101-96 difference and New Orleans missed its last nine shots to close out the game.

Game Notes

Dallas has won eight straight games in the series ... Wright and Harris netted 12 points apiece off the bench ... Pelicans guard Eric Gordon went scoreless on six field goal attempts in 34:14 of playing time ... Dallas outscored New Orleans, 62-46, in the paint.