The Portland Trail Blazers played with the lead most of the way, having little trouble winning 125-117 in New Orleans on Wednesday night.
The Pelicans attempted to make a couple late runs, but Shaedon Sharpe stole a pass near midcourt and took it the distance for a dunk and a 120-112 lead, as the clock ticked under two minutes.
Teammate Deni Avdija was left alone on the left side and swished the open 3-pointer to put the game out of reach 123-114 with 1:01 left.
New Orleans went into halftime with a two-point lead, but that was quickly erased on a Donovan Clingan layup that sparked an 11-point lead and the Blazers led the rest of the way.
“We just started to play way better, more aggressive on defense, stealing balls and running,” Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter said. “We were playing the way we want to play, and after that we just had to maintain.”
Sharpe led Portland with 35 points on 13 of 18 (72.2%) shooting, while Avdija added 32 points.
The Blazers shot 48-for-83 (57.8%) for the game and combined to make 16 of 17 (94.1%) from the free-throw line.
Portland (6-5) continues its road trip at 5 p.m. Friday with a stop in Houston (7-3).