Bulls at Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans look to record their seventh victory in the past 10 games when they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. New Orleans won just six of its first 28 contests before the current hot streak allowed the club to double its win total.
The Pelicans put up a strong fight before falling 128-126 to the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday in a controversial ending as forward Brandon Ingram went flying to the ground after contact with Utah's Rudy Gobert but no foul was called. "Don't have an explanation," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said afterward. "All we did is exactly what we were supposed to do: took the ball, drove it hard to the basket, and then they determined that it wasn't a foul. End of game." Chicago has lost four consecutive games after falling 118-110 to the host Dallas Mavericks on Monday. Big man Wendell Carter Jr. departed with a sprained ankle in the third quarter - X-rays were negative - and he could sit out against the Pelicans.
TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Chicago, FS New Orleans
ABOUT THE BULLS (13-24): Power forward Lauri Markkanen played despite a ankle injury suffered on Saturday against the Boston Celtics and tallied 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds against Dallas. "I was proud of Markkanen fighting through," Chicago coach Jim Boylen told reporters afterward. "He played his heart out. I thought our guys played really hard, competed." Point guard Tomas Satoransky recorded a career-high 14 assists and also had 11 points for his second double-double of the season.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (12-25): Rookie power forward Zion Williamson picked up the tempo of his basketball activities and figures to make his NBA debut by the middle of the month. The No. 1 overall selection in last June's draft injured his right knee in the preseason and underwent surgery to repair meniscus damage. Ingram scored 35 points against Utah for his eighth 30-point outing of the season while point guard Lonzo Ball tallied 21 points for his fourth consecutive 20-point effort.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pelicans won the past four meetings after the Bulls took the previous six.
2. New Orleans SG Jrue Holiday (elbow) missed his first game of the season on Monday and hopes to return against the Bulls.
3. Chicago SF Chandler Hutchison (shoulder) played six scoreless minutes against Dallas after missing the previous 17 games.