CHARLOTTE, N. Joe Torre Braves Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson said he feels like hes playing the best basketball of his 10-year NBA career. Its tough to argue that point. The 29-year-old Jefferson had a great run five years ago with Minnesota, but that came when the Timberwolves were irrelevant. This year Jefferson is spearheading the Bobcats charge to the playoffs and seemingly getting stronger and more confident with each passing game. "My confidence is up, especially on the defensive end, and Im just playing well," Jefferson said. "In Minnesota we were 20 games under .500 and we were getting ready for the draft. Right now were in a dogfight. I mean its a dogfight man, and it just means a lot more to me." Jefferson had 33 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night, helping the Bobcats beat the New Orleans Pelicans 90-87 for their third straight victory since the All-Star break. Jefferson has scored 29 points or more in eight of his last 11 games and at least 20 points in 17 of the last 19. Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said hes never coached a player who has been on a roll quite like the one Jefferson is on now. "Its unbelievable," Clifford said. "I cant imagine many guys in the league are playing better than him right now." And Jeffersons production might only increase in the coming months. The Bobcats traded for Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour on Thursday, looking to bolster their 3-point shooting. Jefferson said hes excited about the trade. He believes Neal will bring the Bobcats an outside presence, one that may force teams to think twice about how often they double team him in the low post. "Playing against (Neal) in Utah the last few years, I didnt like him -- I didnt like him at all," Jefferson said. "He didnt miss a lot of shots." The Bobcats, currently the seventh seed in the East after Atlanta lost to Detroit, overcame some shoddy free throw shooting Friday night in the final minute to win for the seventh time in the last 10 games. Charlotte had missed four of six free throws in the final minute before Kemba Walker knocked down four foul shots in the final 9 seconds to put the Bobcats up by three. The Pelicans had a chance to send the game to overtime, but Josh McRoberts stripped Brian Roberts of the ball at midcourt and time expired. Rookie Cody Zeller continues to steadily improve, chipping in with a career-high 13 points for the Bobcats. "Defensively Im starting to see plays before they happen and on offence Im playing with more confidence," said Zeller, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft. Roberts had 20 points and Anthony Davis added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans (23-31), who have lost four of their last five games. The Bobcats wasted no time exploiting the matchup of Jefferson on Alexis Ajinca, repeatedly dumping the ball in the low post. Jefferson had 14 points in the first quarter. The Pelicans also tried Greg Stiemsma and later Anthony Davis on Jefferson, but nobody had much success stopping him. The trio combined for 13 fouls. Charlotte was 25 of 36 from the foul line; the Pelicans attempted just 11 free throws. "I dont like wearing him down," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said of the decision not to put Davis on Jefferson to start the game. "So, to put him on Al from the jump, I think it wears him out. We did that with Carmelo (Anthony) the last game and he did a good job and he did a good job on Al tonight. "And Al missed some shots. They got 36 free throws and we got 11. So you figure that out." The Bobcats defence, which came in ranked fifth in the league in points allowed, limited the Pelicans to a season-low 32 points in the first half to take an 11-point lead at the break. "We couldnt put the ball in the bucket in the first half," Davis said. "We played great defensively, but its tough to get out of that hole." There was a comical moment in the fourth quarter after an errant pass. A fan retrieved the ball and fired it back to the official on the court just as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was getting up from his seat on the bench. The ball hit Kidd-Gilchrist in the back of the head, causing him to flinch. NOTES: Clifford said newly acquired Neal and Ridnour will not play until next week as the NBA has yet to approve the deal. Both arrived in Charlotte on Friday and watched the game from behind the team bench. ... Gerald Henderson is one of only eight guards in the NBA that has started every game this season for his team. Bob Horner Braves Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Cheap Braves Jerseys .com) - The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors are back in the great white north for a brief moment and will host the Dallas Mavericks Friday night from Air Canada Centre. https://www.cheapbraves.com/1523o-mark-melancon-jersey-braves.html . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St.St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Alexander Steen had two goals and one assist in his return, helping the St. Louis Blues post a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders at Scottrade Center on Thursday. Steen, who missed the previous two games with a lower-body injury, provided an immediate spark and his second tally ignited four-goal third period that carried the Blues to their third straight win. T.J. Oshie had a goal with two assists and Jake Allen made 25 saves. John Tavares and Mikhail Grabovski scored in the second period for the Islanders, who have lost three games in a row. Former Blue Jaroslav Halak allowed five goals on 32 shots. Steen gave the Blues a 3-2 lead at 4:32 of the third when he came in as a trailer on a rush fired a rebound past Halak. Oshie scored from the bottom of the left circle off Patrik Berglunds pass from behind the net with 4:13 remaining. Kyle Okposo lit the lamp for the Islanders 28 seconds after Paul Stastnys power-play goal made it 5-2 with 2:12 remaining, but an empty-net goal by Jaden Schwartz with 1:04 left sealed St. Louis fifth straight win in the series. Steen scored a power-play goal 5:58 iinto the game. Atlanta Braves Gear. . He beat Halak on a blast from the point after nice puck movement gave him plenty of room to wind up. Barret Jackman gave St. Louis 2-0 with 5:42 remaining in the first period when he fired a slap shot off a pass from Steen past Halaks glove. The Islanders battled back with two late goals in the middle stanza. Tavares moved to the middle following a faceoff win and fired a wrist shot through Allens five-hole with 3:57 remaining. Grabovski then beat the Blues to a loose puck after another faceoff and scored on a wrist shot from the slot with 5.3 seconds left. Game Notes Stastny has four goals in the last three games ... The Islanders have been outscored 20-6 during a four-game road skid in the series ... St. Louis improved to 10-1-1 in its last 12 home games ... Oshie has four goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak against the Islanders ... Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (groin) was activated from injured reserve after missing eight games. Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson (concussion) was placed on IR to create room on the active roster for Bouwmeester. ' ' '