Pelicans at 76ers
The New Orleans Pelicans possess their first winning streak in well over a month and have a great chance to extend it to three when they visit the reeling Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. A 106-87 win in Brooklyn on Sunday gave the Pelicans their first set of consecutive victories since a two-game spurt Feb. 19-21, which involved a win over the 76ers.
Tim Frazier, one of several Pelicans afforded increased playing time with a host of regulars on the sidelines in street clothes, had 19 points and 13 assists against the Nets. "I've got the opportunity with New Orleans for the rest of the year," Frazier told reporters after his 10th game since joining New Orleans. "I think we've got six or seven games left and you want to finish on the highest note that you can." That seems like an impossibility for the 76ers, who have dropped 12 in a row and still need one win in the final five games to avoid matching their own NBA record for the worst mark in a season (9-73 in 1972-73). "Perhaps it gets a little deflating, but our guys are still there," 76ers coach Brett Brown told the media in the wake of a 115-102 loss to Indiana on Saturday. "We will see everybody soon, and we will play hard like we did tonight, when we see New Orleans."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE PELICANS (29-47): Frazier has scored in double figures in nine of his 10 games with New Orleans after doing so a total of four times in previous career stops with Philadelphia and Portland. Luke Babbitt accompanied Frazier's surge with one of his own as he is averaging 13.1 points as a starter and has consecutive 20-point efforts for the first time in his six-year career. Alexis Ajinca has been stealing minutes from starting center Omer Asik and is averaging 14.2 points over a six-game span.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (9-68): Nerlens Noel has missed six straight games with a knee contusion and fellow forward Richaun Holmes has sat out four in a row with an Achilles issue. Veteran Carl Landry has picked up much of the slack along the front line with an average of 15.4 points over the course of an eight-game stretch. Isaiah Canaan led the way against the Pacers with 24 points, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor following a 13-of-50 slump in the previous five contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Frazier has 21 assists against two turnovers in the Pelicans' two-game winning streak.
2. 76ers SF Robert Covington has taken 31 3-pointers in the last three games and just three shots inside the arc.
3. In their 121-114 win over Philadelphia earlier this season, the Pelicans received 101 points from players who are currently injured.