Pelicans at Wizards
The Washington Wizards just don't lose at home anymore, and barely lose on the road as well. The Wizards will try to lock up their 17th straight home win and the 14th victory in the last 16 overall games when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
Washington breezed past the Pelicans 107-94 in New Orleans last Saturday and took the first two of its four-game homestand this week over the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers as the standout backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal shined. Beal averaged 25.5 points on 21-of-35 shooting in the two victories while Wall, who handed out 19 assists in last week's win over the Pelicans, posted double-doubles in each of the two contests and led the way with 33 points in Thursday's 116-108 triumph over the Lakers. Last Saturday's setback to the Wizards marked the start of a three-game slide for the Pelicans, who fell at Toronto and at Detroit to kick off a stretch with nine of 12 on the road that runs through the end of February. "We just didn’t play much defense," New Orleans guard E'Twaun Moore told the team's website after Wednesday's 118-98 setback at the Pistons. "Of course, they made some tough shots, but we have to find a way to slow them down. They scored a lot of points. If you don’t play D, you can’t win."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (19-31): All-Star forward Anthony Davis logged 40 or more minutes and recorded a double-double in each of the last three games, but New Orleans did not have enough around him to pull out a win. The Pelicans shot 50 percent from the field on Wednesday but allowed Detroit to shoot 54.5 percent and committed 15 turnovers, which led to 26 points. "It’s a pattern," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters. "All you have to do is look at the assists and the turnovers and the points off of turnovers. ... Until we take care of that problem right there, we’re going to continue to be standing there doing this on a lot of nights. You can’t give up 26 points on turnovers and turn the ball over 15 times. ... You can’t play a team, any team, especially a team like this that has talented players, where you turn the ball over 15 times for 26 points and think you’ll have a chance to win."
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (29-20): Washington shot 50.6 percent from the floor and scored 18 points off 15 turnovers at New Orleans last weekend while center Marcin Gortat quietly logged a double-double. The 32-year-old went for 21 points and 14 rebounds in his fourth straight double-double on Thursday and is shooting 80.8 percent from the field during the current six-game winning streak. "We (are) playing (the) right way now,” Gortat told reorters. "We definitely have a rhythm. We've just got to continue to do this."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards SF Otto Porter Jr. is 11-of-21 from 3-point range in the last four games.
2. Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday is averaging 25.3 points on 59.5 percent shooting in the last four contests.
3. New Orleans rookie SG Buddy Hield was held to five points or fewer in five of the last six games, including a scoreless effort on 0-of-5 shooting against Washington.