Pelicans tie Lakers for ninth in the West

The New Orleans Pelicans survived a late thriller over the Atlanta Hawks (117-112) and made a big step towards the play-in tournament.

New Orleans led by as many as 19 in the contest and endured the comeback of the Hawks late in the fourth to clinch a crucial road win.

Jonas Valanciunas (26 points) and CJ McCollum (25 points) combined for 51 points for the winners, who saw four more players score in double digits.

On the other hand, Trae Young led all scorers with 27 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari added 21 each for Atlanta. The Hawks dropped to 35-36 and remained 10th in the East. They are 4.5 games above 11th-placed Washington Wizards (30-40).

For their part, the Pelicans improved to 30-41 and moved to ninth in the West, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers. New Orleans is also three games above 11th-placed San Antonio Spurs (27-44).

The Pelicans and the Lakers are expected to claim the last two play-in tournament spots and face each other for a place in the playoffs.

The two franchises will also collide twice until the end of the regular season. The first matchup will take place next Sunday, March 27, in New Orleans and the second one in Los Angeles on April 1st.

New Orleans will now take on the Charlotte Hornets on Monday to end a three-game road trip. The Pelicans could see Brandon Ingram return to the lineup after missing 21 games with a hamstring strain. The team is 5-16 without the star forward.

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