Pelicans at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers will try to run their winning streak to seven games when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. Long winning streaks are nothing new to the Clippers the last two seasons, as they won a franchise-best 17 in a row in 2012-13 and 11 straight last season. Blake Griffin’s play usually factors into such winning streaks and he’s been hot lately, averaging 23.2 points in the last six games to bump his season average to 22.5.
The Clippers have won their last four games by an average of 21.6 points, and Griffin and Chris Paul sat out the entire fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win against the undermanned Orlando Magic, so they should be plenty fresh. They’ll need to be against New Orleans center Anthony Davis, who’s averaging 18.2 points and nine rebounds in six career games against the Clippers. The numbers Davis has been putting up lately dwarf those figures, as he’s averaging 26 points and 12 rebounds in his last six games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS New Orleans, FSW2 (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (8-9): Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has the size and skills to neutralize Davis, so New Orleans must be ready to switch to Plan B against Los Angeles. That might involve trying to get Ryan Anderson into a rhythm from the perimeter, something he has struggled with in recent games. Anderson is shooting 8-for-42 from long range in the last seven games, dropping his 3-point shooting percentage from 41.1 percent to 33.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (13-5): Paul was drafted fourth overall by New Orleans in 2005 and spent his first six years with the organization. He left on good terms but certainly has a bad taste in his mouth after his last performance against the Pelicans. He missed all 12 of his field-goal attempts in a two-point loss in New Orleans last March, setting a Clippers’ franchise record for shooting futility.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Paul has scored at least 40 points six times in his career, but only once with the Clippers.
2. The Clippers shoot an NBA-leading 72.5 percent from within three feet of the rim, but attempt an NBA-low 22 percent of their shots from that range.
3. Los Angeles has won 19 of the last 20 games when it distributes at least 30 assists.