Luka Doncic scored 31 points before being sidelined by an injury midway through the third quarter and the host Dallas Mavericks held on to hand the New Orleans Pelicans their 10th consecutive loss, 111-106 on Thursday night.Doncic scored 21 points as the Mavericks took a 40-22 lead after one quarter. He scored six in the second quarter and had four in the third when landed awkwardly after his shot was blocked by Brandon Ingram. After tying to play a bit longer, he went to the locker room for good with what the team called a right heel contusion.Spencer Dinwiddie scored 21 points, Josh Green added 15 and Dorian Finney-Smith had 13 for Dallas, which was outscored 52-30 after Doncic’s injury.Ingram scored 26, CJ McCollum added 19, Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Naji Marshall scored 11 and Larry Nance Jr. had 10 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pelicans, who fell below .500 for the first time this season.Finney-Smith started the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer that gave Dallas a 30-point lead before the Pelicans chipped away, reducing the deficit to 95-76 at the end of the period.New Orleans got within nine points with four minutes remaining, but Green hit a 3-pointer to make it 106-94.Ingram had three baskets and an assist during a 10-2 run that pulled the Pelicans within 108-104 with 57 seconds left. He made another jumper to trim the lead to 109-106, but Dinwiddie made two free throws to seal the win.
