NEW ORLEANS — When Clippers star Kawhi Leonard hit big shots in the closing minutes, the Pelicans answered with Brandon Ingram, whose recent form has sent his team surging up the standings.
Ingram scored 36 points, bringing fans to their feet with an array of clutch, mid-range jump shots, and New Orleans beat Los Angeles 122-114 on Saturday night.
“If you want to be the best, you’ve got to go against the best and you’ve got to beat them,” Ingram said. “That’s one of the things that was in my head tonight, just trying to get this win.”
Jonas Valanciunas scored 23 points — 15 in the third quarter — and grabbed 12 rebounds for New Orleans (40-38), which won for the seventh time in eight games and pulled within a half-game of the Clippers (41-38) for sixth place in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles lost its second straight despite getting 40 points from Leonard, who played 41 minutes in New Orleans after being restricted to 18 minutes during a loss at Memphis a night earlier so that he’d be more available against the hotly pursuing Pelicans.
“We just have to give credit to them as they played amazing,” Leonard said. “Ingram played great.”
CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III each added 19 points for New Orleans, which trailed for most of the first three quarters but maintained a slim lead throughout the fourth.
Ingram made 13 of 23 shots, including nine shots away from the rim, ranging from pull-ups to tough turnaround fades.
“Those are I’m-just-better-than-you shots,” McCollum said of Ingram’s shot selection. “He’s relying on his skill set and his comfort level. Regardless of analytics and what’s considered a good shot, that’s a great shot for him.”
Miami gets needed win over Dallas, 129-122
MIAMI (AP) — Miami was desperate. So was Dallas.
Jimmy Butler and the Heat had just enough to help their playoff position — while dealing the Mavericks a big blow.
Butler had 35 points and 12 assists, Cody Zeller added 20 points and the Heat held off the Mavericks 129-122 on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Max Strus and Kevin Love each scored 18 and Tyler Herro added 15 for the Heat.
Miami won despite allowing Dallas to shoot a season-best 61%.
“I wouldn’t necessarily have drawn it up this way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Luka Doncic was brilliant again for Dallas, finishing with 42 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 31 points and Kyrie Irving added 23 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.
“A win is a win,” Butler said. “I don’t like the fact that they shot 61%. But I do like the fact that we finally won a game.”
The Mavs had been 7-0 this season when shooting at least 54%, and fell to 30-2 all-time, including playoffs, in games where they shot at least 60%.
“Our defense was nonexistent,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “Couldn’t get stops.”
Both clubs went to the conference finals last season; the Heat are trying to get out of the play-in round, and the Mavericks are trying to just have a shot at the playoffs.
The win moves Miami (41-37) closer to securing no worse than the No. 7 seed and most advantageous spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. The Heat are now 2 1/2 games ahead of both No. 8 Atlanta (38-39) and No. 9 Toronto (also 38-39).
Miami moved within 1 1/2 games of No. 6 Brooklyn (42-35).