Pelican edge Bulls in triple OT despite Deng's 37

CHICAGO - Agence France-Presse

Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy pressures New Orleans Pelicans guard Anthony Morrow during the first half of an NBA game in Chicago. AP photo

Ryan Anderson scored an NBA career-high 36 points and Jrue Holiday made the deciding 3-point play with 2.6 seconds remaining in triple overtime Dec. 2 as New Orleans edged Chicago 131-128.

Eric Gordon added 23 points for the Pelicans, who were playing their first game without injured top scorer and rebounder Anthony Davis but were still able to complete a perfect three-game road trip, improving to 9-8.

Britain’s Luol Deng had 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a losing cause as the Bulls fell to 7-9. It was Chicago’s sixth loss in seven games but the team’s first home loss of the season. Davis, last year’s top pick in the NBA Draft, broke his left hand Sunday in New York but the Pelicans -- known as the Hornets until this season -- took advantage of the best scoring performance in Anderson’s six NBA seasons to beat the Bulls.

Holiday, who sent the game into the first extra five-minute period on a jumper with 3.9 seconds remaining in regulation time, finished with 19 points and 12 assists.

Chicago’s Taj Gibson scored 26 points and contributed 14 rebounds while Mike Dunleavy netted 23 points for the Bulls.

In Portland, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and the Portland Trail Blazers downed Indiana 106-102, snapping the Pacers’ NBA win streak at seven games despite a career-high 43 points by Paul George.

Damian Lillard added 26 points for Portland and Aldridge contributed 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who matched San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference at 15-3 with their second win in a row after an 11-game win streak was ended Wednesday at Phoenix.

Indiana, which opened the season with nine wins in a row, fell to an NBA-best 16-2. The only other team in the Eastern Conference with a winning record is defending NBA champion Miami at 14-3. The Pacers had 16 points and 14 rebounds from Roy Hibbert, 12 points from David West and 11 assists from George Hill but suffered their first defeat since falling 110-94 at Chicago on Nov. 17.

George had 24 points in the first half, which ended with Indiana ahead 46-45, and he netted 17 points in the fourth quarter, when the Trail Blazers outscored the Pacers 34-30.

Spurs beat Hawks

In San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 23 points, including a last-second basket to win the game, and grabbed 21 rebounds to spark the San Antonio Spurs over the Atlanta Hawks 102-100.

The 37-year-old NBA superstar, who has led the Spurs to four league titles and twice won the regular season NBA Most Valuable Player award, took a pass from Manu Ginobili and sank the deciding shot with 0.4 of a second remaining.

Duncan, who hit 10-of-15 shots from the field and also blocked two shots, lifted the Spurs to their 15th victory in 18 games while the Hawks fell to 9-10 with their 16th consecutive loss in games played at San Antonio.

Boris Diaw came off the bench to score 16 points for the Spurs while fellow Frenchman Tony Parker added 15 points and seven assists for San Antonio. Argentina’s Ginobili finished with 10 points and seven assists.