Pelicans at Hawks
The New Orleans Pelicans finally broke through and won their first game of the season Tuesday, but even that bit of good news could not ease the pains of an injury-marred first two weeks. The Pelicans play Wednesday at the Atlanta Hawks and hope leading scorer Anthony Davis will be available after Davis suffered a right hip contusion near halftime of Tuesday’s 120-105 victory over Dallas.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters after the game regarding Davis, adding X-rays were negative. “Nothing surprises us here.” The Hawks were surprising with how poorly they played in the first half of Monday’s 117-107 home defeat to Minnesota, trailing by 34 points early in the third quarter before rallying to actually take the lead briefly in the final minutes. “I think to fight back from that kind of deficit shows the resiliency and character of the group,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters after the game. Davis torched the Hawks for a career high-tying 43 points with 10 rebounds Friday in New Orleans, but Kyle Korver hit all eight of his shots from the field as Atlanta won 121-115.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (1-6): Davis is averaging 24 points and nine rebounds but New Orleans will hold its breath his hip injury is not serious, as the Pelicans already have experienced plenty of injury anguish this season. New Orleans has struggled defending the post since losing center Kendrick Perkins to a pectoral injury, and guards Tyreke Evans (right knee) and Norris Cole (left ankle sprain) remain sidelined. Point guard Ish Smith has 37 assists in his past four games and fellow point Toney Douglas is averaging 11.4 points in five games; both were signed in late October to bolster the depleted backcourt.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (7-2): Atlanta has been exceptional in the second half recently, averaging 65.3 points after halftime in its past four games, but has surrendered 107 points or more in two of the past three games after holding five of its first six opponents under 100 points. Teague, Al Horford and Paul Millsap are averaging a combined 52.4 points per contest, and the Hawks are among the league leaders in assists per game (26.9) and steals per contest (11). Millsap and Korver each scored 22 points in the first matchup with the Pelicans to lead six players in double figures.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Budenholzer was so irate with his team’s play in the first half Tuesday, he burned two timeouts in a 28-second span.
2. Hawks G Tim Hardaway Jr. has yet to make his Atlanta debut; Hardaway was acquired in a draft-day trade with the Knicks.
3. New Orleans C Omer Asik, who missed five of the first six games with a right calf strain, scored two points with five rebounds in 15 minutes Tuesday.