Pelicans at Lakers
The acquisition of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has yet to make an impact for the New Orleans Pelicans and they are running out of time to get back in the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Pelicans do not own a victory with Cousins on the floor and hope to change that when they visit the West cellar-dwelling Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
New Orleans is 1-4 since the blockbuster trade and the victory came against Detroit while Cousins was sitting out with a suspension, but it displayed some progress in Friday’s 101-98 overtime loss to powerful San Antonio. “We’ve got to find a way to pull these games out,” Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis told reporters. “We show a lot of signs of good things, we think we’re starting to figure some stuff out, but we’ve got to figure out how to convert them into wins.” The Lakers could be the perfect tonic for New Orleans after collecting their sixth consecutive loss Friday in a 115-95 rout against the Boston Celtics at home. The biggest problems for Los Angeles have come on the defensive end where it is allowing 48 percent shooting – last in the league entering Saturday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (24-38): Davis, who is probable with a finger injury, has prospered with Cousins on the roster while averaging 33.6 points - pushing his season total to 28.2 - and 10.6 rebounds in five contests since the trade. Cousins is also putting up decent numbers (22.3 points, 15.3 rebounds) since arriving from Sacramento, but turned the ball over six times in the loss to San Antonio. Point guard Jrue Holiday continues to produce, averaging 24 points the last two games and 16.2 on the season, but New Orleans needs more from others outside its top three to make a run.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (19-43): Los Angeles allowed 51.2 percent shooting and was pounded on the boards in Friday’s loss, but got another strong performance from Jordan Clarkson. The 6-5 guard is averaging 16.8 points in the last five games and is second on the team overall (13.9) behind backcourt partner D’Angelo Russell (14.8), who has drained 20-of-47 from 3-point range over the past seven contests. Rookie Brandon Ingram (8.1 points per game overall) is coming off one of his worst outings of the season as the 6-9 forward went scoreless in 26 minutes Friday against the Celtics.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Los Angeles G Nick Young is 17-for-58 from the field over the last six games since his 26-point effort against Milwaukee.
2. New Orleans G E’Twaun Moore is 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the last three games and is shooting 39.9 percent from behind the arc overall.
3. The teams split a pair of games in New Orleans earlier this season – the Pelicans winning by 17 and the Lakers by 27.