Hornets at Pelicans
The Charlotte Hornets hope to avoid a letdown fewer than 24 hours after their biggest victory of the season when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. The Hornets are off to a strong start overall, but had yet to beat a top-tier squad until rallying to edge the Atlanta Hawks 100-96 on Friday with a career high-matching 23 points from center Cody Zeller.
Charlotte had one win against a team currently over .500 (Utah) coming into Friday’s contest before holding the Hawks to 16 points in the fourth quarter to end their six-game win streak. The Hornets are 4-1 on the road in the early going and the Pelicans have won their last two at home, knocking off Boston and Portland this week. All-Star Anthony Davis shook off a back injury to score 38 points in 37 minutes as New Orleans rolled over Portland 113-101 on Friday. The Pelicans got a boost Friday from the return of guard Jrue Holiday as he scored 21 points in his season debut after missing the first 12 games to care for his wife, who underwent brain surgery after giving birth to their first child.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE HORNETS (8-3): Leading scorer Kemba Walker missed all seven shots he took from the field in the first half Friday before extending his streak of games with at least 20 points to 10 with 21 in the victory. Zeller was shut out in 14 minutes against Cleveland last Sunday before draining 15-of-19 shots from the floor the last two games and added a season-high three blocked shots against Atlanta. Nicolas Batum has been on target from long range in the last four games, draining 12 of his 24 attempts from behind the 3-point arc.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (3-10): New Orleans moved the ball well and got good shots Friday -- recording 31 assists on 45 field goals and connecting on 54.9 percent from the field while limiting Portland to 37.5. The 23-year-old Davis has scored at least 30 points eight times in 12 games, including five of his last six, and has blocked at least four shots in five contests. Holiday’s inclusion should help a backcourt that includes playmaker Tim Frazier, who recorded at least eight assists in eight of his 13 games this season while averaging 10.8 points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New Orleans C Alexis Ajinca, who is one rebound shy of 1,000 for his career, missed Friday’s game with a shoulder injury and is day-to-day.
2. Charlotte was expecting to get G/F Jeremy Lamb (hamstring) back Friday, but he is still experiencing soreness and is day-to-day.
3. The teams split a pair of games last season with each winning on its home court.