With every game feeling like an actual “must-win,” the Pelicans finally got the job done, beating the San Antonio Spurs, 119-84, on Tuesday, March 21.

Brandon Ingram finished with a game-high 32 points, leading the way for the Pelicans to hang onto the hope of making the playoffs. The standings are so close that it is a race among six teams to find out who will finish in seventh and eighth place in the Western Conference.

Currently the Minnesota Timberwolves are in seventh place, 12.5 games behind the first-place Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans are currently in 12^th place, but just one game back of Minnesota so there is definitely opportunity to move up and not just make the play-in game, but to move to a playoff spot.

Against the Spurs, the Pelicans were firing on all cylinders – something we’ve seen them do plenty this year, which is what makes it so confusing when they fall flat against a team like the Houston Rockets. They did start off slow against San Antonio, but once they got the lead, they never looked back.

Jonas Valanciunas finished with a double-double, scoring 19 points and having 15 boards in the contest. Trey Murphy scored 17 points, and CJ McCollum finished with 15 points.

The Pelicans will play again on Thursday, March 23, at 7 pm against the Charlotte Hornets in another must-win match-up.

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