The New Orleans Pelicans (41-35) gave a valiant effort, but couldn't top Trail Blazers Saturday night, falling in Portland 99-90.

Playing in one of the toughest venues in the NBA, the Pelicans trailed by 13 early in the third quarter before their defense propelled them to an 18-4 run.

"We were getting stops and rebounds in the third," said New Orleans coach Monty Williams. "Tyreke (Evans) and Eric (Gordon) got it going (on offense) a little bit. The stops got us going."

Evans finished with 21 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, while Gordon led the team in scoring for the second consecutive night, scoring 22.

Anthony Davis had an off night shooting, going 8-20 from the field, scoring most of his buckets under the goal to finish with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.

With less than 4:00 to go and the game tied at 85, the Trail Blazers went on a 10-0 run, a dagger the Pelicans couldn't overcome.

"We didn't have enough on the offensive end," Williams noted. "We only got to the free throw line 10 times."

10 total free throws for New Orleans was odd if one considers the sheer physicality of the contest.

Williams rarely references officiating in any press conference, but briefly referenced the puzzling lack of fouls called on Portland.

"In a physical game like that, they only had 9 fouls called against them," said Williams. "That's a story for another day."

The story today for the Pelicans is a record of 41-35, one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-34) for 8th place in the Western Conference. Both squads have 6 games left on their schedule, with the Pelicans owning the NBA's 3rd toughest remaining schedule, compared to the Thunder's schedule which ranks as the 16th hardest remaining.

The Pelicans fly home Sunday to prepare for a Tuesday night showdown in New Orleans with the NBA's best team, the Golden State Warriors (63-13). Tip-off is set for 7:00.

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