Dec 30, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Isaiah Thomas (3) shoots as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) defends forcing a missed shot during the second half of a game at Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Suns 110-106. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Behind eight points in the final 91 seconds from Tyreke Evans, the New Orleans Pelicans ended the Phoenix Suns’ six-game winning streak with an 110-106 victory. The Suns were able to tie the game at 100 on an Eric Bledsoe layup with just under two minutes to go, but then Evans went to work.

Evans — who finished with 24 points — rebounded his own miss and drew a foul on P.J. Tucker before hitting both from the stripe. Phoenix, who had previously scored on 10 points of their previous 12 possessions, proceeded to turn the ball over on a bad pass from Goran Dragic as the shot clock dwindled. Evans added a fadeaway jumper, two more free throws and a short push shot after bullying Bledsoe on his way to the rim.

Yet, thanks to aggressive rim runs from Bledsoe and Dragic, the game wasn’t over until Jimmer Fredette (Who hadn’t played in the previous five games) drained two at the line with 10 seconds to go to provide the final margin.

New Orleans who is now tied with the Suns in the loss column jumped out to an early 14-point lead and looked like they were going to blow the game out of the water. A Gerald Green led run helped Phoenix cut the deficit to just six at the end of the first.

The Pelicans threatened to pull away again about midway through the third, but an Alex Len dunk capped off a 9-0 run and gave the Suns their first lead since their first basket of the game.

Dragic led Phoenix with 22 points and with an 11-point fourth quarter performance, Bledsoe finished with 21 and added eight rebounds.

The loss leaves the Suns up just one game up in the Western Conference playoff race and provides the Pelicans a crucial lead on a potential tiebreaker as the teams play just two more times this season.

Protecting the paint

The Pelicans opened the game by getting whatever they wanted at the rim taking advantage of a Suns team that is 27th in the league at points allowed in the paint. Tyreke Evans in particular was unstoppable scoring, 12 points in the first, getting wherever he wanted with little resistance. Even when there were defenders at the rim Evans was able to hang in the air and contort his body to avoid them and finish. New Orleans finished the first half with an unacceptable 36 points in the paint and added another 22 in the second.

Green Light

With the Pelicans jumping out to a 24-12 lead things looked dire early on, and then Gerald Green checked in with four minutes left in the first wearing a proverbial cape and a smirk. Green proceeded to score 15 points in the next nine minutes and single handily bring Phoenix back to just a three point deficit. Green scored with his usual litany of acrobatic drives and by nailing his first three attempts from behind the arc. In a break from his usual iso-heavy attack, all three of the treys were assisted and it’s obvious that Isaiah Thomas — who had two of them — and Green are developing some nice chemistry. On his final make, Green started backpedaling to behind the arc as soon as Thomas began his drive.

Drawing The Switch

With a big backcourt and a defensive freak of nature in Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are more adept than most teams at switching the pick and roll. Yet against an equally versatile Suns team it frequently got them in trouble. Both the Morrii drew post matchups with guards and took advantage, scoring easily. On his best basket of the night Bledsoe drew Davis out to the three point line and as the shot clock wound down, blew by the goliath on his way to an acrobatic finish. Switching is a good technique when team’s don’t have multiple multifaceted scorers on the floor, against Phoenix it’s a risky proposition.