The New Orleans Pelicans secured a win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night and coupled with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s loss, they move back into eighth spot.
Anthony Davis had 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in another impressive performance, as the Pelicans moved into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with the regular season winding down.
However, Davis was not left impressed as he revealed that some of the Warriors starters trashed talked before the game and treated it like a scrimmage, opening up theories to potentially having a strategy to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder from the post-season picture.
The Pelicans star will take great confidence from the win regardless, but even though they have a half-game lead over the Thunder, they still have the more difficult run-in which could see things turn around again.
Stephen Curry had 25 points although his shot to tie the game as time expired rimmed out as the Warriors fell to a loss.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs defeated OKC behind 26 points from Kawhi Leonard as they secured an eighth consecutive win.
The 23-year-old matched his career-high for the second straight game as he continues to find his rhythm, and coach Gregg Popovich will be delighted with what he is seeing from the NBA Finals MVP.
Tim Duncan had 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Spurs, but Popovich admitted that he felt sorry for OKC as it wasn’t a fair fight with their injury problems.
However, there was some bad news for Spurs fans as Tony Parker left the game with tightness in his right Achilles tendon and did not return.
Staying in the West, the Los Angeles Clippers made it 11 wins in their last 12 games as Blake Griffin and JJ Redick scored 27 points apiece to lift them to victory over the Lakers.
DeAndre Jordan added 17 rebounds while Chris Paul had 19 points and 10 assists, as Jordan Clarkson led the fight for the Lakers with 20 points.
Over in the East, the Miami Heat picked up an important win over the Charlotte Hornets with Goran Dragic scoring 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter.
NBA Results
Phoenix Suns 69-96 Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets 100-105 Miami Heat
Golden State Warriors 100-103 New Orleans Pelicans
San Antonio Spurs 113-88 Oklahoma City Thunder
Minnesota Timberwolves 111-116 Sacramento Kings
Los Angeles Lakers 100-105 Los Angeles Clippers
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