Pelicans at Nets
What a difference a day makes - at least to the Brooklyn Nets. They'll look to take advantage of their one-day break following a dreadful loss to Detroit as they entertain Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. Brooklyn fell behind by as many as 29 points en route to a 111-95 defeat versus the Pistons while the Pelicans come in on a high following back-to-back victories over the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nets' aging roster has made things difficult for first-year head coach Jason Kidd, who yanked his starters after falling behind 84-55 just past the midway point of the third quarter Friday. The defeat dropped Brooklyn to 2-9 in the tail end of back-to-backs, while the Nets are a far more respectable 14-10 when playing on one day's rest. They'll need the energy to stop Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who averages better than 20 points and 10 rebounds.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (22-27): Davis, who was named to the Western Conference All-Star team this week as an injury replacement for the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, has earned every bit of his success this season. The 20-year-old has been a buzzsaw so far this month, averaging 23.5 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks while shooting 53.8 percent from the field in four February games. Veteran guard Eric Gordon has also been solid of late, averaging 19 points over his last three games while knocking down six 3-pointers.
ABOUT THE NETS (22-26): Brooklyn has little hope of catching the Toronto Raptors atop the winnable Atlantic Division unless it figures out how to succeed in the nine back-to-back situations it has left. While eight of those back-end games will be played away from the Barclays Center, only one - against the Raptors on March 10 - comes against a team with a current record above .500. Brooklyn could use the help in those situations, with its only victories coming against a Memphis team without Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph and an Orlando team sitting second-last in the East.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nets have taken four of the last six in the series.
2. Davis averaged just 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games against Brooklyn in his rookie season.
3. The Pelicans are 12-12 in games played on one day's rest.