Pelicans 102, Nets 96: Quincy Pondexter tallied a career-high 25 points to lead host New Orleans to its third consecutive win.

Tyreke Evans scored 15 points and handed out 11 assists while Dante Cunningham had 13 points for the Pelicans, who shot 51.4 percent from the floor. Omer Asik notched his second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as New Orleans improved to 19-10 at home.

Joe Johnson scored 21 points and had 10 boards while Thaddeus Young added 19 points for the Nets, who are 2-4 on an eight-game stretch away from home. Brook Lopez and Jarrett Jack provided 15 points apiece off the bench for Brooklyn.

The Pelicans led by 11 early on but needed a 3-pointer by Norris Cole in the closing seconds of the first half to claim a 53-50 lead. A 3-pointer by Johnson and a technical foul on Pondexter helped Brooklyn put together a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead midway through the third, but New Orleans had an 8-4 burst to end the third for a 76-73 advantage.

Jack made two free throws to pull the Nets within 83-82 with under nine minutes left before his team went the next 4:40 without a point in falling behind by as many as 11. Alan Anderson was good from long range to cut Brooklyn's deficit to 98-93 with 1:48 to go, but Pondexter answered from beyond the arc to help the Pelicans survive.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Jack had missed the previous two games with a hamstring injury. ... Pondexter's previous career high was 22 points, accomplished against Brooklyn on Nov. 30, 2013. ... Cole had 11 points in 23 minutes off the bench.