Pelicans at Suns
The battle for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference is rapidly becoming a two-team race, though the Phoenix Suns are still hanging around the fringes. The Suns will take one more stab at staying in the battle when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday. The Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been trading off the No. 8 spot for the past week while the Suns, who sit three behind Oklahoma City, hang in the distance.
The Pelicans overcame a horrible shooting performance in a win over Milwaukee on Monday thanks to the defensive presence of Anthony Davis and Omer Asik up front and will again have the size advantage over Phoenix. The Suns picked up their second win in five games with a 102-89 home triumph over the NBA-worst New York Knicks at home on Sunday but have not beaten a team with a winning record since edging Oklahoma City in overtime on Feb. 26. Phoenix will have to earn its way back into the race with a closing schedule that includes only two of its final 14 games against teams with losing records.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (37-30): New Orleans got a scare on Tuesday when Davis landed awkwardly early in the fourth quarter and briefly left the game while being worked on by trainers. The All-Star forward returned and finished the game but was 6-of-18 from the field and the Pelicans were held to 34.9 percent shooting, including 4-of-20 in the fourth quarter, in the 85-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. “No game is perfect,'' New Orleans guard Norris Cole told Nola.com. “There were some ugly plays out there that we didn't like, obviously, but we won. It's always better to win and learn than to lose and learn at this point.”
ABOUT THE SUNS (35-33): Phoenix has had four days off since the win over the Knicks to prepare for its brutal closing stretch, but the team is still likely to be without center Alex Len (ankle) and guard Brandon Knight (ankle). Knight has missed the last three games and the team went with a bigger lineup against the Knicks, leaving Eric Bledsoe as the only starting guard. “I think (the players) understand the situation we're in," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Arizona Sports. “Especially with our finishing schedule. For us to have any hope we have to beat New Orleans the two times we play them and we've got to beat Oklahoma City the one time we play them.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Suns F Marcus Morris is averaging 19 points in his last two games while going 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
2. Pelicans G Eric Gordon has hit multiple 3-pointers in six straight games and 15 of the last 16.
3. New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 110-106 home win over Phoenix on Dec. 30.