Dallas Mavericks @ New Orleans Pelicans
Monday, March 16, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22500988
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 32 35 36 26 129DAL 26 28 32 25 111
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Zion Williamson scores 27 points to lead the Pelicans past the Mavericks 129-111
NEW ORLEANS -- — Zion Williamson scored 27 points and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 129-111 on Monday night.
Saddiq Bey had 23 points, while Jeremiah Fears and Trey Murphy III each added 17 to help the Pelicans win for the eighth time in 12 games.
Naji Marshall scored 32 points for the Mavs against his former team. Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg , the top pick in the 2025 draft, had 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Williamson made 11 of 13 shots in 28 minutes. Often injured during his first six seasons since being drafted first overall out of Duke in 2019, Williamson has played in 52 games in his seventh NBA campaign, averaging 21.5 points.
New Orleans led for most of the game and by as many as 19 points.
P.J. Washington scored 18 for the Mavericks, who played without Klay Thompson (rest), Daniel Gafford (illness) and Caleb Martin (sore right foot). Max Christie had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
New Orleans played without Dejounte Murray (illness), and coach James Borrego adjusted to the starting point guard's absence by playing Murphy and Herb Jones in the backcourt and giving second-year center Yves Missi his ninth start of the season. Meanwhile, veteran guard Jordan Poole came off the bench for his first playing time in eight games.
Missi grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots. Pelicans reserve Karlo Matkovic had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Up next Mavericks: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Pelicans: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in the first of a two-game set between those teams on consecutive nights.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPDQ D. Queen
HJ H. Jones
JF J. Fears
JH J. Hawkins
JP J. Poole
KM K. Matković
MP M. Peavy
MA Matkovic
SB S. Bey
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
DALAJ A. Johnson
BW B. Williams
CF C. Flagg
DP D. Powell
JP J. Poulakidas
KM K. Middleton
MB M. Bagley III
MC M. Christie
NM N. Marshall
PW P. Washington
RN R. Nembhard
TS T. Smith
NOP/DAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur