Pelicans at Kings
The New Orleans Pelicans take another swing at chasing down Oklahoma
City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference when they
visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday. New Orleans has won three straight
games to move 1 1/2 games behind the Thunder for eighth place in the
Western Conference but only has eight games remaining.
Sacramento is way out of the playoff race and has lost three consecutive games. Kings small forward Rudy Gay will sit out for the second straight game and has to satisfy the NBA’s concussion protocol before he can return. Sacramento fell to the Houston Rockets 115-111 on Wednesday, while the Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 113-92 on the same night. New Orleans star Anthony Davis had 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots in the easy victory.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (40-34): Forward Ryan Anderson (knee) returned from an 18-game absence to score 17 points in 22 minutes against the Lakers. Anderson, who averages 14.7 points, is a strong 3-pointer shooter – he ranks second on the team with 113 3-pointers – and New Orleans has missed his long-range prowess. “Getting Ryan back was huge,” Davis told reporters. “He brings another dimension to our team. We really missed him.”
ABOUT THE KINGS (26-48): Standout center DeMarcus Cousins has scored 20 or more points in each of his last nine games and has reached 30 four times during the stretch. He excelled in the loss to Houston with 24 points and 21 rebounds while matching his career best for both assists (10) and blocked shots (six). “I’ve never coached a guy that can put up so many things into a game,” Sacramento coach George Karl told reporters. “He has a triple-double but really has a quadruple-double because he had six blocks, three steals and at least one or maybe two charges.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Sacramento has won four of the last six meetings.
2. New Orleans G Tyreke Evans is averaging 19.5 points on 30-of-47 shooting over the past four games.
3. Kings PF Jason Thompson had 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting against the Rockets after averaging two points on 3-of-13 shooting over the previous three games.