Pelicans at Trail Blazers
Anthony Davis is scoring at will and the New Orleans Pelicans are on a roll following a dreadful start. Davis looks to lead the Pelicans to their fifth consecutive victory when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
Davis scored 45 points in Wednesday's 117-96 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves for his third 40-point outing of the season and 10th of his career. "I just came out and played aggressive," Davis said afterward. "Everybody is playing very well and playing very confident and playing aggressive. We're playing a great brand of basketball and I just made sure I kept it going with my energy and being aggressive on the offensive and defensive end." Portland didn't play a very good brand of defense in Wednesday's 137-125 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers as it watched Kevin Love score 34 first-quarter points on his way to 40. The Trail Blazers are losers of five of their past six games and allowed an average of 117.5 points during the stretch.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (6-10): New Orleans is 6-2 after losing its first eight games, and optimism is flowing that Davis can carry the team toward a playoff spot. The Pelicans are 4-0 since point guard Jrue Holiday returned from a family situation and second-year coach Alvin Gentry feels good about the depth of his team. "It's because we've got enough healthy bodies and we can throw guys out there," Gentry told reporters. "Defensively and offensively combined, this is by far the best we've played since I've been here."
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (8-9): Portland scores a lot of points but its defense is among the worst in the league so far, and that was evident again when it allowed a season-worst 137 points to Cleveland. Not only did Love score at will in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers knocked down 21 3-pointers as the Trail Blazers allowed 120 or more points for the fifth time this season. Star point guard Damian Lillard scored 40 points - two shy of his season high - and posted a season-best 11 assists for his first double-double.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pelicans won two of the last three meetings after dropping the previous seven.
2. Portland swingman Evan Turner is averaging 15.7 points on 19-of-33 shooting over the past three games.
3. New Orleans F Dante Cunningham (broken fibula) will be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks after being injured against Minnesota.