In the NBA, no lead is safe. And on Jan. 4, the New Orleans Pelicans found that out the hard way.

The Pelicans dropped a 118-116 overtime decision to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Any loss is bad, but this one was particularly gut-wrenching.

New Orleans outplayed Indiana for the majority of the night, leading the club to a 10-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the contest. From there, however, things got ugly.

The team would combine to miss its last five shots from the field in regulation. After closing the gap to just three points, Victor Oladipo forced Lonzo Ball into a turnover that the Pacers were able to use to get the equalizer — a 26-foot three-point bomb from Myles Turner that knotted the contest, 106-106.

Brandon Ingram’s buzzer-beater couldn’t find the bottom of the net, and the game went to overtime.

There, the teams battled back-and-forth with Ball tying the game with just over 25 seconds remaining in the period. On the game’s fateful possession, however, with just over three seconds remaining, Malcolm Brogdon connected on a running 12-footer to give the Pacers the decisive 118-116 cushion.

With no timeouts remaining, a full-court pass from Ball to Zion Williamson caromed out of bounds as time expired.

The good: Balance, Balance, Balance

Brandon Ingram (31 points, four rebounds, eight assists) and Zion Williamson (24 points, 10 rebounds) continue to lead the way for the Pelicans, but they had plenty of help on Monday night, as all five of the team’s starters scored in double figures.

Steven Adams recorded a 10-point, eight-rebound effort, Eric Bledsoe contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while Lonzo Ball had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough.

The bad: Losing a big lead

The Pelicans played well enough to win and appeared to have the game in hand when a pair of free throws from Brandon Ingram gave the club what seemed to be a comfortable cushion.

With 2:22 remaining in the contest and the Pelicans leading 106-96, victory appeared to be within grasp, but Stan Van Gundy’s team managed to eventually snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The combination of porous defense, cold shooting and a critical turnover gave the Pacers all the opportunity they needed to end the fourth quarter on an overtime-forcing 10-0 run.

In the extra period, clearly reinvigorated by the comeback, Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo scored 10 of the Pacers’ 12 points. The other two were scored by Malcolm Brogdon, who broke the game’s final tie with just over three seconds remaining.

If nothing else, the Pelicans learned a valuable lesson — in the NBA, you’ve got to play all 48 minutes.

The Ball: One crucial turnover

What have you done for me lately, Lonzo Ball?

Quite a lot, but on this night, it probably won’t be talked about.

Ball turned in an all-around strong effort with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. While he did commit four turnovers, he connected on four of his six three-point attempts.

Unfortunately, though, it’s what Ball failed to do that will be remembered: take care of the basketball.

Despite all of the back-and-forth and the heroics from the Pacers down the stretch, with less than one possession remaining in the competition, Ball had the ball stolen from him by Victor Oladipo. That gave the Pacers the chance they needed to tie the game and they did exactly that on a deep bomb from Myles Turner.

The contest went to overtime and, from there, the rest is history.