Timberwolves at Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans look to follow up their most impressive win of the season and pick up their fourth in a row overall when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. In a game that saw their superstar forward Anthony Davis play just 19 minutes due to a knee bruise, the Pelicans still coasted past the Atlanta Hawks 112-94 on the road Tuesday night.
Tim Frazier tied a career high with 21 points and fell one assist shy of matching his personal best with 14 as New Orleans tied its longest winning streak since a four-gamer late in the 2014-15 season. Davis was able to return from his first-quarter injury and finished with 13 points in 19 minutes for the Pelicans, who have also won three in a row at home. The Timberwolves appeared to be finding their stride, too, amid a modest 3-2 stretch in which their offense began to click, but they've dropped two in a row while averaging 82 points. They also blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead in Monday's 99-93 home loss to Boston, shooting 5-of-25 in the final stanza.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (4-9): Minnesota entered Tuesday's action tied for third in the NBA in 3-point shooting (37.7 percent), despite the fact that it is 11-of-46 from beyond the arc in the back-to-back ugly losses. Zach LaVine, who was succinct in saying that his team "laid an egg" in the loss to the Celtics, missed all seven of his long-range shots in the setback. Karl-Anthony Towns had two of the Timberwolves' four 3-pointers and finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the last seven games.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (5-10): The sudden hot streak can be tied directly to the return of guard Jrue Holiday, who missed the first 12 games of the season to be with his ailing wife but came back to ignite the winning streak. He scored 15 points in 27 minutes versus Atlanta and is averaging 19.3 points on 52.2 percent shooting in the three games since his return. Frazier's play has also been elevated with Holiday around, as the third-year pro is averaging 16.7 points and 10 assists while committing a total of just three turnovers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. After averaging 33 points during a six-game hot stretch, Minnesota F Andrew Wiggins has scored a combined 21 points on 7-of-29 shooting in the last two contests.
2. Davis is scoring 35.9 points per game at home.
3. Towns averaged 24.3 points and 13.5 rebounds to help the Timberwolves split four meetings last season.