The showdown between two of the NBA’s statistically worse teams went down to the wire in Dallas Friday night, with the Mavericks defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 118-115 in an NBA-cup tournament game. With tonight’s victory, the Mavericks rose to 5-12 and sunk the Pelicans to 2-14 on the year. Given that one of New Orleans’ prior two victories came at the expense of Dallas, tonight’s victory against the Pelicans carried some redemptive value for a Maverick team hoping to turn their season around.

How the Game was Won

With 1:53 left in the fourth, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson not only finished through contact with a tough contested layup, he also hit the and-one free throw to turn a one point deficit into a two point lead. Moments later, he picked the pocket of Naji Marshall, drove

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