The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-97 on Wednesday at American Airlines Center. Yahoo Sports said it was Dallas' first preseason game of 2026-27 on its home court. Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg were held out. Yahoo's headline calls the Mavericks' late comeback one that "falls short." The feed summary doesn't say why the two sat.
Sportsnet said Jeremiah Fears led New Orleans with 16 points and five assists. Our box score adds that he made 6 of 11 shots and 2 of 3 from three, and had three steals in 20 minutes. Zion Williamson went 5 of 5 from the field for 10 points, and New Orleans was +14 with him on the floor. Derik Queen had 11 rebounds but shot 1 of 9. ESPN's piece is only a highlight package, and its summary gives no detail.
Dallas lost despite winning several of the usual team categories. The Mavericks shot 30 of 85 (35 percent) and 10 of 49 from three. They also had 20 offensive rebounds and made 27 of 32 free throws. They turned the ball over 25 times, which led to 27 New Orleans points. The Pelicans had 23 fast-break points to Dallas' eight and led 50-38 in the paint.
New Orleans led for 89 percent of the game, with a largest lead of 14. Dallas outscored it 34-26 in the fourth quarter, which closed the gap but never produced a lead. Tobi Lawal and John Poulakidas each scored 16 for the Mavericks. Poulakidas hit four threes, and Seth Lundy added 13. Sergio de Larrea had 10 points and six assists, along with five turnovers.
In the exhibition standings, Dallas is 1-2 and fourth in the Southwest. It lost 135-117 to Houston on Oct. 9, then won 132-115 at Houston on Oct. 11. Without Flagg, who played 70 games and started all of them last season, the rotation leaned on role players and, for the most part, they didn't shoot well. New Orleans is 2-1 and second in the division. It beat Oklahoma City 116-110 on Oct. 6 and lost 128-118 at Miami on Oct. 8.
Dallas hosts Atlanta on Friday, Oct. 16, and New Orleans hosts Washington the same night. The sources don't say whether Irving or Flagg will play Friday.
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