NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 36 points, bringing fans to their feet with an array of clutch, mid-range jump shots, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 122-114 on Saturday night.
Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans (40-38), which won for the seventh time in eight games and pulled within a half-game of the Clippers (41-38) for sixth place in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles lost its second straight despite getting 40 points from Kawhi Leonard, who played 41 minutes in New Orleans after being restricted to 18 minutes during a loss at Memphis a night earlier so that he’d be more available against the hotly pursuing Pelicans.
CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III each added 19 points for New Orleans, which trailed for most of the first three quarters but maintained a slim lead throughout the fourth.
Russell Westbrook had 24 points and nine assists for the Clippers. Ivica Zubac added 15 points and Norman Powell 12 for Los Angeles.
MIAMI 129, MAVERICKS 122
MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 35 points and 12 assists, Cody Zeller added 20 points and Miami snapped a three-game losing streak.
Max Strus and Kevin Love each scored 18 and Tyler Herro added 15 for the Heat.
Luka Doncic finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 31 points and Kyrie Irving added 23 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.
The win moves Miami (41-37) closer to securing no worse than the No. 7 seed and most advantageous spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Meanwhile, it’s a big blow to Dallas (37-41). The Mavs fell a full game back of No. 10 Oklahoma City (38-40) in the race for the last Western Conference play-in spot, and worse, the Thunder own the head-to-head tiebreaker. ___
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The Associated Press
