Timberwolves at Pelicans
If the New Orleans Pelicans are going to hang with the Western Conference powers, they have to take care of business against the bottom of the league. The upstart Pelicans hope for an easy victory when they host the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. New Orleans is aiming for its fourth win in five games and looks to continue its best start since winning eight straight to begin the 2010-11 campaign.
New Orleans coach Monty Williams was pleased with his team's defense in a 109-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday in which they scored 18 fast-break points and 60 points in the paint. "When we continue to defend like that, the offense is going to come," Pelicans coach Monty Williams told reporters. "When you don't have to call plays because you are running in transition, it's hard for the opposing team to set up." The Timberwolves have lost three straight and are coming off a 113-101 loss to Houston on Wednesday in Mexico City.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (2-5): Minnesota will be without point guard Ricky Rubio (ankle) for the third straight game, meaning the Timberwolves once again will have two rookies in the starting lineup in point guard Zach LaVine and small forward Andrew Wiggins. Rubio and his 10 assists per game are the catalyst at the offensive end, but LaVine has done a good job of taking care of the ball when pressed into more action. Kevin Martin (18.3 points) leads the team in scoring and the post duo of Nikola Pekovic (14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds) and Thaddeus Young (14.3 points) has been solid, but the big men will have their hands full with New Orleans' frontcourt.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (4-3): New Orleans' arrival as a playoff contender coincides with the maturation of third-year forward Anthony Davis, who has collected at least 20 points and 10 rebounds six times in seven games. Point guard Jrue Holiday (15.1 points, 6.6 assists) and swingman Tyreke Evans (16.3 points, 7.1 assists, 6.9 rebounds) also are off to great starts and sharpshooter Ryan Anderson (16.3 points, 5.9 rebounds) is a major contributor off the bench. The Pelicans will be even more dangerous if they can get shooting guard Eric Gordon going; he's shooting just 28.8 percent and averaging 7.7 points, nearly 10 points below his career average.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The game will feature the past three No. 1 overall draft picks in Davis (2012), Minnesota's Anthony Bennett (2013) and Wiggins (2014).
2. New Orleans leads the league with 13.3 offensive rebounds per game and Davis (4.0) and C Omer Asik (3.9) account for most of them.
3. The Timberwolves are 0-5 when they allow 100 or more points and 0-4 when they score in triple digits.