Zion Williamson scores 38 points as Pelicans beat Mavs

Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans shoots against Dwight Powell #7 of the Dallas Mavericks during a game at the Smoothie King Center on March 27, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Jonathan Bachman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Zion Williamson continued his dominance by scoring 38 points as the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 112-103 on Saturday night.

Williamson fell one point short of the career-high he set one night earlier in a 113-108 loss to Denver and made 13 of 20 field-goal attempts. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points before fouling out, Brandon Ingram scored 19, Kira Lewis Jr. had 13 and Eric Bledsoe 11.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks with 30 points, but had just nine in the second half. Jalen Brunson added 24 points, Boban Marjanovic had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Maxi Kleber 13 and Trey Burke scored 13 each.

Dallas All-Star Luka Doncic, who missed a 109-92 home loss to Indiana on Friday because of tightness in his lower back, sat out Saturday’s game because of a non-COVID illness. Kristaps Porzingis, who had 31 points and matched his career-high of 18 rebounds against the Pacers, was held out because of knee injury recovery.

The Pelicans scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to grab an 84-78 lead.

They led by eight before Hardaway hit a 3-pointer for the Mavericks’ first field goal of the quarter. Burke later scored seven points during a 9-0 run that gave Dallas a 93-91 lead.

The lead changed hands three times before Ingram’s jumper, a Williamson layup and an Alexander-Walker 3-pointer gave New Orleans a 103-95 edge with 2:16 left.

Dallas broke from a halftime tie by scoring eight straight points as New Orleans went 3 1/2 minutes without scoring.

Bledsoe’s basket ended the drought and he later added a jumper and a 3-pointer to give the Pelicans a 70-68 lead.

The score was tied twice and the lead changed hands four times before the quarter ended with New Orleans holding an 80-78 edge.

The Pelicans finished on a 13-0 run to take a 35-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Hardaway scored 11 points during a 17-0 run that gave Dallas a three-point lead.

Williamson’s layup ended New Orleans’ 6 1/2-minute field-goal drought and he added two more baskets before the half ended in a tie at 53.