New Orleans Pelicans downed by Dallas Mavericks

New Orleans Pelicans' player Al-Faroug Aminu (0) battles with Dallas forward Dirk Nowitski for a loose ball in Wednesday night's 100-97 loss to the Mavericks in the Arena. Aminu registered a quality double-double with 16 points and 20 rebounds. Photos by David Grunfeld,Nola.com/The Times Picayune.

Pelicans' point guard Jrue Holiday (11) pushes the ball up court being tracked by the Mavericks' Gal Mekel (33) and Samuel Dalembert (1) during Wednesday's contest. Holiday netted 26 points with nine assists.

The New Orleans Pelicans dropped a close one last night in the Arena being edged by the Dallas Mavericks 100-97 as a final 3-point attempt by Ryan Anderson bounced off the back of the rim at the the buzzer. The Pelicans wasted an outstanding double-double effort by Al-Faroug Aminu, who delivered a superb outing, collecting 16 points and 20 rebounds. Aminu also pulled down 20 rebounds in his last meeting in April with the Mavericks. Anderson, one of the leagues' top 3-point shooters, registered a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Jrue Holiday delivered a solid performance with a season-high 26 points and nine assists. Holiday's fourth quarter shooting and 10 points kept the Pelicans in it down the stretch in a game which featured 19 ties and 10 lead changes. Pels' coach Monty Williams said,"Our bench didn't give us what we typically need to get from them. A lot of that's because Ryan Anderson is in the starting lineup  and that offsets a bit," Williams added. Anderson, who is starting due to the injury of Anthony Davis, who will be out 4 to 6 weeks with a fractured left hand, is in the starting five. The Pelicans' bench accounted for just 10 points on a poor shooting performance, hitting on only 2-of-17 feild goal attempts. Dallas, 12-8, got 21 points from the reliable Dirk Nowitski. The 9-9 Pelicans' three-game winning streak was snapped last night. The Pelicans return to action tomorrow night, hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder and the league's leading scorer Kevin Durant, averaging 28.3 points per contest.