Suns at Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans finally get a break from a gauntlet of high-powered opponents when they host the Phoenix Suns on Monday. The Pelicans went 2-5 on a stretch that included Cleveland, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Toronto and two games against red-hot Washington, which handed New Orleans a 105-91 loss Saturday in the finale of an 0-3 road trip.
"It was a tough road trip. A tough one," guard Jrue Holiday told reporters after producing 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the defeat. The Suns have dropped six of their last seven and were embarrassed on their home floor in a 137-112 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. The Bucks had dropped five in a row before entering Phoenix and shooting 63.4 percent from the floor against the league's 29th-ranked defense (112.6 points per game). The Suns claimed an overtime win at New Orleans on Nov. 4 before the Pelicans used OT to win at Phoenix on Dec. 11.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE SUNS (16-35): Devin Booker scored 31 points in Saturday's loss, 27 during a span of just over seven minutes of the first half. "It's just that zone," Booker told reporters. "If you play basketball long enough, a lot of people get in that zone. It would have been better if it had lasted longer, the whole game, we could have come out with a win, but we didn't." The 20-year-old, who scored 38 at New Orleans earlier this season, has reached the 20-point mark in 16 straight games, the fifth-longest run in team history.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (19-32): Star forward Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Washington and was seen receiving treatment on his right thigh after the game. He has five straight double-doubles, averaging 25.2 points and 15.4 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent in that span. Forward Terrence Jones is averaging 15.6 points - more than four over his season average - in his last seven contests and finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four blocks and two steals in the loss to Phoenix in November.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Holiday missed all six of his 3-point tries in the past two contests to fall to 32.4 percent from long range on the road, compared to 46.5 percent at home.
2. Suns C Tyson Chandler is 24-for-28 from the floor over a seven-game stretch.
3. Phoenix won six of its last 10 games at New Orleans.