Thunder at Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans managed to earn a win without All-Star forward Anthony Davis on Monday but would prefer to have their best player available on Wednesday. Davis would serve as the last line of defense against Russell Westbrook's drives to the basket when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit for the finale of their-six game trip.
Westbrook decided against a drive on the final possession Monday and instead pulled up and buried a mid-range jumper with 1.4 seconds left to give the Thunder a 97-95 road win over the Utah Jazz and a chance to finish off the six-game trip even. "(Westbrook) did a great job coming down the stretch of managing the game," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "We wanted to give him the whole length of the floor on the last play. He was the one who said to me, 'the more space, the better.'" The Pelicans bounced back from their most embarrassing loss - a 143-114 home setback to the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets on Friday - with a stunning 124-122 win over the defending champion Cavaliers on Monday as Terrence Jones did his best Davis impression with 36 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. "Hard work and belief in my teammates and my coaches," Jones told reporters in explaining the performance. "I’ve been trying to improve myself all year, and I think throughout the entire season the staff and the players have been believing in me and respecting me to do that and I try to make the play for us."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE THUNDER (26-19): Westbrook recorded his 22nd triple-double of the season and the 59th of his career - tied with Larry Bird for fifth all-time - with 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Monday's win. “Russell is going to be a Hall-of-Fame player," Donovan told reporters. "He’s one of the best players in this league. The things he’s done statistically, when you hear some of the names that are surrounding the things he’s doing, it’s a great credit to his work ethic and how much time he’s invested in it. But I also know him, and he says this more often than anybody, he wants to win. He impacts the game in a lot of ways." Westbrook posted a triple-double in five of the last six contests.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (18-27): New Orleans withstood a triple-double from LeBron James in Monday's win and nearly posted one of its own, with point guard Jrue Holiday collecting 33 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. “I had everything to be honest. Got to the lane pretty well, made some pretty good passes, knocked down some jump shots," Holiday told reporters. "So it felt pretty good." Holiday buried 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc in the win and is 9-of-16 from 3-point range in the last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Davis (thigh contusion) was a game-time decision on Monday and is considered day-to-day.
2. Thunder C Steven Adams (concussion) returned from a two-game absence on Monday and scored nine points in 37 minutes.
3. Oklahoma City took the first two meetings this season, including a 121-110 win at New Orleans on Dec. 21 in which Westbrook scored 42 points.