Rockets at Pelicans
The undermanned New Orleans Pelicans have managed to stay in the thick of the race for the eighth playoff spot in the West until slumping the past week. The Pelicans will try to mount a last-ditch effort to catch Oklahoma City and snap a three-game skid when the Houston Rockets visit Wednesday. Despite a wrath of injuries, the Pelicans won nine of 11 to pull neck-and-neck with the Thunder, but the latest injuries to Omer Asik and Tyreke Evans have further crippled the withering club.
“We have been dealing with a lot of injuries. It’s tough, not having Tyreke, Jrue (Holiday), Ryan (Anderson) and Omer, who are all important pieces on this team," said All-Star Anthony Davis, who has been sidelined with two separate injuries the past month. "But this is the NBA. We have to deal with the adversity and try to find a way to win.” The Rockets have done a good job facing adversity, sitting in the third playoff spot in the West despite playing most of the season without center Dwight Howard, who could finally return for this contest.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (47-23): James Harden continued his MVP-caliber season by scoring 19 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter in a 110-100 win over Indiana on Monday, the Rockets' fourth win in five games. "He's a hell of a player," Rockets coach Kevin McHale told reporters. "We don't have our record if James isn't playing at an MVP level, which he's doing. I say it every year, two or three guys play at extraordinary levels, and he's one of them right now." The Rockets are 17-9 since Howard (knee) went down, and Harden has averaged 27.4 points on 42.9 percent, 6.9 assists and 6.2 rebounds since.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (37-33): Davis had 26 points and 12 rebounds after missing two games with a sprained left ankle in the 107-100 loss to the Clippers on Monday. The Rockets will be the fifth consecutive game against a better-than-.500 team, but but the Pelicans' next four games will be against clubs with a sub-.500 record. "We've got to hit a major winning streak here towards the end, because they're not going to bow down to anybody," guard Eric Gordon told reporters. "We have to control our destiny and be consistent, as far as winning games."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Gordon lost his left front tooth when he landed on the floor face first after getting tripped by the Clippers' Matt Barnes midway through the third quarter Monday. “It was just weird to hit my face on the floor," Gordon said. "It was painful, I had a bit of a headache, but I was still going to play, especially in a tough game like this.”
2. The Rockets tied an NBA record previously held by the Knicks by draining 10 or more 3-pointers for the 51st time this season against Indiana.
3. Harden is averaging 26.9 points, seven assists and 5.3 rebounds on 45.2 percent shooting when Howard has played.