They made it hard on us. We were in survive mode in that first (half)," Parker said. "You have to give them a lot of credit. They played with a lot of energy and it was hard to get that win."Davis' running hook as he was fouled by Duncan gave New Orleans one more brief lead at 87-86 with 7:08 to play. San Antonio regained the lead on Parker's layup, but then Duncan fouled out when he tried to stop Gordon's drive.Gordon missed the second of two free throws to tie it, however, the Pelicans were further hurt by three turnovers down the stretch, two by Davis and one by Aminu.San Antonio led 94-90 on Belinelli's 3, but Roberts came right back with a 3 for New Orleans. Leonard responded with a 3 of his own, but Roberts' runner off the glass pulled New Orleans to 97-95 with 1:46 still left. Gordon's steal set up a potential tying possession, but Davis' short jumper rimmed out, and Parker converted a difficult reverse scoop with 44 seconds left to make it 99-95.The Pelicans set up Roberts for a quick 3, but it rimmed out and New Orleans did not threaten again."We had our chances tonight and we just didn't execute down the stretch. We had three costly turnovers in the last few minutes of the game," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "We had 87 looks tonight -- 87 shots. We just need to put the ball in the basket."The Pelicans managed to open up a double digit lead in the second quarter when Anthony Morrow's floater made it 41-30.The Spurs quickly closed the gap later in the period with an 8-0 run capped by consecutive layups by Duncan and Parker.The Pelicans maintained the lead for the rest of the half, but Belinelli, who played for New Orleans when the club was called the Hornets, hit a 20-foot fadeaway to pull San Antonio to 51-50 at halftime.Game notes San Antonio G Danny Green missed his first game with a fractured finger in his left hand and is expected to be out for about four weeks. ... The Spurs improved to 24-0 when leading after three quarters. ... New Orleans G Austin Rivers scored 11 points, his sixth time in double digits this season. ... Davis now has 12 games this season in which he has scored at least 20 points and grabbed at least 10 rebounds.Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Luol Deng scores 27 as Cavaliers squeak pastLakersRecommend0Tweet0Associated PressLOS ANGELES -- Mike Brown had no interest in rehashing his past with the Los Angeles Lakers -- not right now, not with his new team struggling.He's much more intrigued by the possibilities in the Cleveland Cavaliers' future after a breakout game by their newest acquisition.Luol Deng hit five 3-pointers while scoring 27 points, Anderson Varejao added 18 points and 18 rebounds, and the Cavaliers beat the spiraling Lakers 120-118 on Tuesday night.Dion Waiters scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers improved to 4-16 on the road. They also won for Brown in his return to Staples Center to face the Lakers, who fired him early last season before descending into the mess of a team that couldn't keep up with Cleveland down the stretch."I don't care where I am,Nike Free Trainer 5.0, I really want wins," Brown said. "If we win, I can take some satisfaction from it, but there's a lot of learning we can do from this game, too."Jodie Meeks hit six 3-pointers while scoring a season-high 26 points in injury-plagued Los Angeles' fifth straight defeat. Nick Young scored 28 points, but the Lakers have lost 11 of 12 heading into a punishing seven-game trip starting Wednesday in Phoenix."This is hard," said Young, who missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. "We're losing,Jordan 13 Black White Yellow, and we're losing players daily. It's frustrating,Air Jordan 3 White Black Grey, but we've still got to get up and play basketball. Nobody wants to get embarrassed. You've got to still take pride in that Lakers uniform."Brown coached just 71 games with the Lakers, who hired him to succeed 11-time NBA champion Phil Jackson in 2011 and then pulled the plug on his tenure five games into last season. Brown expressed no hard feelings or regret about his brief tenure with the Lakers, saying he's still on good terms