The Dallas Mavericks (17 - 7) defeated the New Orleans Pelicans (10 - 11) 112 - 107 on Wednesday. Dallas has won two of their last four games, passing through a difficult part of their schedule. Jameer Nelson sat out Wednesday with a shoulder injury. Somewhat surprisingly, J.J. Barea moved into the starting lineup at point guard in Nelson's place. Monta Ellis scored a game - high 26 points on 11 - of - 19 shooting from the field after shooting just 1 - of - 11 from the field in the Mavericks' loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Four players scored at least 20 points for the Mavericks, with Devin Harris, Chandler Parsons and Dirk Nowitzki joining Ellis in accomplishing the feat. They overcame the Pelicans by shooting 53 percent from the field. Dallas will host the Golden State Warriors in a matinee game on Saturday. New Orleans has lost three of their last five games but were coming off back - to - back wins before dropping Wednesday's game. Anthony Davis scored a game - high 31 points and worked well with starting point guard Jrue Holiday, whom finished with 30 points and 10 assists. The Pelicans played well Wednesday, but the Mavericks simply played better. Eric Gordon is expected to miss at least three more weeks as he continues to try and work back from his shoulder injury in an effort to avoid surgery. New Orleans will return home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
["PlayerStat(G,'Anthony Davis') has 31 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jrue Holiday') has 10 Assists ,has 30 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Chandler Parsons') has 20 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dirk Nowitzki') has 20 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Monta Ellis') has 19 Assists ,has 11 Field goals attempted ,has 26 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Devin Harris') has 20 Assists ."]