Mavs get key 125-107 win for postseason, eliminate Pelicans

 Luka Doncic and the Mavericks are a big step closer to avoiding the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.

The young Dallas sensation scored 33 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 19 in his return from injury and the Mavericks kept the inside track to a top six spot in the West with a 125-107 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

“This is all anybody’s talking about, the play-in and not the play-in and all that,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s permeated the internet. The refuge is to play the games. And hopefully play them well. We’re one step closer.”

The Pelicans were eliminated from postseason contention while playing without four starters. Lonzo Ball was scratched with a strained right thumb, joining Zion Williamson (broken left hand), Brandon Ingram (sprained left ankle) and Steven Adams (sprained toe) on the sideline.

The Mavericks (41-29) can clinch at least the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a win in either of their two remaining regular-season games against a pair of eliminated teams in Toronto and Minnesota.

Dallas, which bounced back a night after a blowout loss in Memphis, also avoids the play-in tournament with a loss by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing NBA-worst Houston later Wednesday.

The Mavericks are tied with Portland at No. 5, but the Trail Blazers hold the tiebreaker. Portland beat West-leading Utah 105-98 on Wednesday night.

“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t paying attention to that stuff,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 27 points. “We definitely knew we had to get back on track and get this win.”

Eric Bledsoe and Jaxson Hayes scored 15 points apiece for the Pelicans, whose hopes took a huge hit last week when the club announced Williamson was out indefinitely. Williamson and Ingram have averaged a combined 51 points per game.

A night after matching his season low with 12 points against the Grizzlies, Doncic scored 16 points on a 33-8 Dallas run that broke a 30-all tie starting with the final bucket of the first quarter.

The young Dallas sensation was 5 of 5 from 3-point range in the second quarter, when the Mavericks scored a season-high 45 points. Doncic finished 7 of 15 beyond the arc and had eight rebounds and eight assists, including back-to-back alley oop dunks for Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr.

“They outscored us 79-50 in the middle two quarters,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “They just crushed us. Luka was unbelievable. When he’s shooting the ball like that, they get really, really hard to guard.”

Porzingis shot 7 of 14 after missing 10 of 11 games, the first three because of a sprained right ankle. Right knee soreness forced him out early in the only game he did play in that stretch before the 7-foot-3 Latvian missed seven more.