The New York Knicks hope a trip to a city where they've enjoyed success in recent years will help them end their eight-game skid. The Knicks shoot for their sixth straight win in New Orleans when they take on the Pelicans on Tuesday, but they'll have to snap a nine-game road losing streak. New Orleans is aiming for its first back-to-back wins in nearly a month after routing the Los Angeles Lakers 104-87 on Sunday to wrap up a three-game road trip.
It's the start of a three-game road trip for New York, which has lost seven games during its skid by seven points or fewer, including each of the last five. "Losing games as close as we are losing them, whether it's five or six points over the past 13 games, this is new to me," Knicks star Carmelo Anthony told reporters after Sunday's 103-99 home loss to Portland. "This situation is new to me, but we're not going to stop and I'm not going to stop." The Pelicans can hardly relate — their last three games have been decided by an average of 21.3 points — with their 17-point victory over the Lakers being the closest.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE KNICKS (4-18): Despite Anthony (23.2 points, 6.6 rebounds), New York has been one of the least effective offensive teams in the league. Veteran big man Amar'e Stoudemire (12.9 points, 7.9 rebounds) is enjoying a bounce-back campaign, but the Knicks don't have any other consistent scoring threats. New York has been respectable at the defensive end but has played much better defense at home than on the road, where it allows 104.1 points per game.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (9-10): New Orleans boasts one of the league's brightest young stars in big man Anthony Davis (25.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.9 blocks), who is capable of dominating the paint at both ends. The Pelicans also have a solid backcourt duo in Tyreke Evans (15.2 points, 5.8 assists) and Jrue Holiday (15.2 points, 6.6 assists), who give the team two capable ball-handlers who can also score. Depth has been a concern, as 3-point specialist Ryan Anderson (14.9 points) is the only reserve who consistently contributes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New Orleans is 0-7 when held under 100 points, while New York is 0-10 when giving up triple digits.
2. The Pelicans are 6-0 when Holiday dishes out nine or more assists and 2-9 when he has seven or fewer.
3. Stoudemire has recorded four double-doubles this season, one short of his total in 65 games last season.