There can be a little drama in the NBA preseason.
After the New Orleans Pelicans' 10 point fourth-quarter lead was cut to one in the waning moments, an emphatic follow slam by undrafted rookie Patric Young with 2.1 seconds remaining helped the Pelicans secure a 88-85 victory at the CenturyLink Center.
Dallas guard Ricky Ledo's 3-pointer at the buzzer caught the front of the rim.
Tyreke Evans scored 14 points and Anthony Davis added 13 as the Pelicans' starters saw plenty of action in the team's final tuneup for the 2014-15 season.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle opted to rest stars such as Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler in Dallas' penultimate preseason affair. The Mavericks were led by guard Gal Mekel's 17 points.
A 3-pointer from guard Jimmer Fredette pushed the Pelicans' lead to 10 points with 8 minutes left in the game. An Ivan Johnson three-point play helped the Mavericks cut the lead to 86-85 with 30.5 seconds remaining before a wild scramble near under the hoop led to Young's dagger.
The Pelicans finished the preseason 5-2. Dallas is 3-4.
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Both offenses struggled early in the neutral site matchup.
New Orleans led 6-4 with less than 4 minutes left in the first quarter. Evans finished the quarter with 11 points and the Pelicans emerged with a 23-10 lead.
The Mavericks (4 of 16) shot just 25 percent in the first quarter and 33 percent (13 of 39) for the half.
Although New Orleans led 38-33 at halftime, the Pelicans managed to shoot just 34 percent (14 of 41).
