Pelicans Lose To Mavericks, Robbed Of Potential Overtime By Referee

The injured New Orleans Pelicans, missing their leading scorer (Ryan Anderson), their All-Star point guard (Jrue Holiday), their best bench player and penetrator (Tyreke Evans), and seemingly any good fortune, played hard Saturday night on the back end of a home road back to back, and their 4th game in 5 nights.

Trailing the Dallas Mavericks 110-107, Austin Rivers dribbled the ball upcourt, and as he went to shoot a potential game-tying 3-pointer, Mavs guard Monta Ellis mugged Rivers. (pictured below, to see video of the play, click here) What did the officials do? Nothing. Time expired, and the Mavericks walked off the floor.

"That's embarrassing," said head coach Monty Williams. "That's not right. A no-call in a game like that when Dirk gets the same call in the first half and they shot 45 free throws? Certainly, we're not going to blame the game on the referees, but certainly didn't like the call at the end."

With the odds stacked against them, the Pelicans fought hard for 48 minutes. Anthony Davis finished with an as expected double-double (28 points, 14 rebounds), while Eric Gordon scored 20.

Jason Smith scored 10 points for New Orleans, but only played 19 minutes due to foul trouble. He and Gordon both fouled out, as the Pelicans were called for 33 fouls, compared to Dallas' 23.

Second year pro Darius Miller was solid off the pine, scoring 12 points on 4-5 shooting, all from beyond the arc.

New Orleans (15-21) now must prepare for the top team in the Western Conference. Monday night, the Pelicans host the San Antonio Spurs (28-8). Tip-off is set for 7:00.