The New Orleans Pelicans (34 - 29) defeated the Memphis Grizzlies (44 - 18) 95 - 89 on Saturday at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Coming into this game sitting just one game back from the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final projected playoff seed in the Western Conference standings, the Pelicans pulled off a big win Saturday, bringing themselves to within a half game of the Thunder. Despite being down 50 - 38 at half, the Pelicans took off in the third quarter, out - scoring the Grizzlies 33 - 17 to help set themselves up for the six - point victory in front of their home crowd. The Pelicans were the superior shooters in this game, going 48 percent from the field, while the Grizzlies finished at just 43 percent. The Pelicans were led by the duo of Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans in this one. Evans went 10 - for - 16 from the field and 3 - for - 8 from the three - point line to finish with a team - high of 26 points, to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. He struggled to just 11 points on Friday against the Boston Celtics, so it was good to see him rebound with a big performance. Davis, on the other hand, finished with 23 points (11 - 21 FG, 1 - 1 FT), 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in 40 minutes. After missing five games in a row with a shoulder injury, the Pelicans are loving what they're seeing from their superstar, as he's averaged 30 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in the three games since his return. He's pushed his season averages to 24 points and 10 rebounds on the year. Eric Gordon also played a factor in the win, as he posted 16 points (4 - 6 FG, 3 - 5 3Pt, 5 - 5 FT) and six assists in 35 minutes. He's played well of late as well, combining for 36 points and eight assists over his last two games. For the Grizzlies, Jeff Green did the bulk of the work offensively. He went 8 - for - 18 from the field, but 0 - for - 3 from the three - point line to record 20 points, while adding four rebounds and three assists as well. He had shot less than 30 percent in two out of his last three games coming into Saturday, so it was good to see him get things turned around and have a productive showing from the field in this matchup. Mike Conley also had a strong showing, finishing with 17 points (5 - 9 FG, 3 - 6 3Pt, 4 - 4 FT), four rebounds and three assists of his own over 30 minutes. He's been quite inconsistent with his scoring lately, but he was able to put up some decent numbers Saturday. With both Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combining for just 15 points between the two, Beno Udrih was the only other Grizzlies' player in double figures for points. In just 15 minutes off the bench, he posted 11 points (4 - 6 FG, 3 - 3 FT) and four rebounds. With a few of their stars struggling in this one, the Grizzlies just were n't able to overcome the Pelicans' strong play. The Pelicans' next game will be on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, while the Grizzlies will travel to Chicago to play the Bulls on Monday.
["TeamStat(G,'Pelicans') has 48 Percentage of field goals ,has 29 Losses ,has 95 Total points ,has 33 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 34 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Grizzlies') has 43 Percentage of field goals ,has 18 Losses ,has 89 Total points ,has 17 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 44 Wins ."]