PORTLAND, Ore. -- The game didn't have playoff implications, but New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry liked what he saw as the Pelicans ended the season on a winning note Wednesday night at Moda Center.

New Orleans rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final eight minutes to pull out a 103-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jordan Crawford came off the bench for 15 points, and rookie forward Cheick Diallo scored 12 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds for the Pelicans (34-48), who ended a five-game losing streak.

"I liked the fact that we had the young guys in there at the end," Gentry said. "Especially Cheick. Any time we can get him extended minutes, it's really good for him."

Diallo scored a season-high 19 points and hauled in 11 boards in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

"You add this performance to the mix, that's two consistent ones for Cheick," Gentry said. "He came back tonight and did it again."

New Orleans' All-Star big men, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, did not play Wednesday night. Gentry said they were nursing injuries.

Shabazz Napier scored 25 points despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter for the Trail Blazers, who saw the end to a three-game winning streak.

Pat Connaughton collected a career-high 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Noah Vonleh had 12 points and a career-high 19 boards for the Blazers (41-41).

Portland coach Terry Stotts also sat his two best players, guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The Blazers were already locked into a first-round playoff matchup against the top-seeded Golden State Warriors, a series that starts Sunday in Oakland, Calif.

"The young guys played well," Stotts said. "They competed. Pat had a good rhythm going. Shabazz had another good game. It was disappointing not to win, but we didn't make the plays we needed."

Portland committed 25 turnovers and scored only 15 points on 6-for-17 shooting in the fourth quarter.

"Defensively, we were really good, especially in the fourth quarter," Gentry said. "That was a key to the victory."

Napier, a third-year point guard, scored 32 points in a 98-97 win over San Antonio on Saturday.

"It was great to be out there the last two games," he said. "It's been a while since I played long minutes. It was great to get the win over the Spurs, but a tough loss tonight."

Connaughton also had consecutive career nights after scoring 15 points against the Spurs. He was 5-for-10 from 3-point range on Wednesday night.

"To be honest, I should have made a few more," the second-year small forward said. "My teammates did a great job of finding me for open shots. It's my job to knock them down."

The Blazers jumped to a 30-22 lead after one quarter, sinking 12 of 22 shots.

New Orleans took a 43-42 lead on a jumper by Axel Toupane with 4:50 left in the second quarter. The score was tied 53-53 at intermission.

The Blazers closed on a 10-3 run to take an 85-78 lead into the final period.

Connaughton's fifth 3-point shot of the game pushed Portland ahead 93-84 with eight minutes left. The Pelicans responded with a 15-0 run to seize a 99-93 lead with 2:59 to go.

Vonleh's three-point play cut the difference to 101-98 with 2:01 to play. He followed with a hook shot to make it 101-100 with 1:28 remaining.

Neither team scored again until New Orleans' Quinn Cook sank a pair at the line for a 103-100 advantage with 6.1 seconds to go. Portland's Tim Quarterman was intentionally fouled with 5.2 seconds left. He missed the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second. The ball bounced around and into the hands of the Pelicans as time expired.

"I wanted us to compete and play hard," Gentry said. "We did that for the most part. The unit we had in there at the end did a good job of executing, and came up with a couple of really big plays."

NOTES: The Trail Blazers sat out G Damian Lillard (foot), G CJ McCollum (no injury given), G Allen Crabbe (foot) and F Al-Farouq Aminu (no injury given). ... Portland C Jusuf Nurkic (leg) missed his seventh straight game. The Blazers took X-rays of the leg on Wednesday. Coach Terry Stotts said they would reveal the results of the test on Friday. ... The Pelicans were without F Anthony Davis (knee) and C DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles tendon). ... Portland had won 11 home games in a row against New Orleans, dating to November 2010.