Knicks at Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans knew over a week ago that it was time to make a move if they intended on being in the playoffs in the Western Conference, and the team responded with wins in four of the last five games. The Pelicans will try to push their winning streak to four in a row when they host the New York Knicks on Friday.
New Orleans pointed at this five-game homestand as a good time to make a move and took the last three after dropping the opener to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 21. "We’ve got to just keep plugging away at it," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters after a 102-98 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. "As I said, this was an important homestand for us. We’ve just got to try to keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve got New York coming in here. Obviously, it’s going to be another really tough game." The Knicks intend to be a playoff team as well but are losers of five of the last seven after suffering a 102-98 defeat in overtime at Atlanta on Wednesday in the opener of a three-game trip. "Oh man, it's killing us," New York power forward Kristaps Porzingis told reporters after coming up just short in the latest setback. "I know it’s killing everybody here in the locker room right now."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE KNICKS (16-15): New York had some trouble keeping its cool at Atlanta, with star forward Carmelo Anthony ejected for getting an elbow near Hawks swingman Thabo Sefolosha's face and coach Jeff Hornacek drawing a technical foul in overtime. "I told our guys, 'I can’t get a technical in that situation, either,'" Hornacek told reporters. "A point here or there in a close game could make a difference. Even though I didn’t agree with the call, I shouldn’t have gotten a technical." Anthony was 4-of-9 from the floor before being ejected and is struggling with his shot of late, shooting 18-of-50 - 3-of-12 from beyond the arc - in the last three contests.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (13-21): Gentry was ejected on Wednesday for arguing with the referees as well but was in a better mood postgame with his team healthy and winning. New Orleans battled without several key players in the first two months but is getting everyone back and swingman Tyreke Evans, who missed the first 26 games with a knee injury but had his minutes restriction raised recently, scored a season-high 12 points in 16 minutes on Wednesday. "We had a tough start, a lot of injuries, but that's no excuse," Evans told reporters. "Nobody feels sorry for you. The only thing we can do is finish the season strong. We're getting a lot of guys back and getting healthy. We've got to take care of homecourt from here on out."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pelicans rookie SG Buddy Hield is 13-of-19 from the floor in the last two games.
2. Knicks SG Courtney Lee (wrist) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.
3. The home team took each of the last four in the series.