Pelicans at Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets continue their quest to end a three-year playoff drought when they host the dangerous New Orleans Pelicans in a critical game on Sunday night. The Nuggets have won two in a row and six of eight to lead Portland by 1 ½ games for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference entering Saturday with five straight road contests looming after the matchup against the Pelicans.
Denver coach Michael Malone told reporters every outing down the stretch is a playoff game for his team and the Nuggets have posted at least 124 points in three consecutive contests after Friday’s 125-117 victory at Indiana. “That’s a big win for us on the road, and coming off a pretty good game against (Cleveland, 126-113 win),” Denver forward Wilson Chandler told the media. “We came out and were just aggressive again.” New Orleans is just 11-24 on the road and sits five games behind the Nuggets, but has played much better of late with five victories in its last seven contests despite a 117-107 loss at Houston on Friday. All-Star Anthony Davis comes in with four straight double-doubles and scored 50 against Denver in a 107-102 loss on Oct. 26 in the season opener for both teams.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (30-42): Davis leads the team in scoring (27.8), rebounds (11.9) and blocks (2.2) while fellow All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has picked up his production - averaging 28.3 in his last three contests. Point guard Jrue Holiday (15.8 points, 7.2 assists) continues to put up solid numbers while shooting guard Jordan Crawford is averaging 13.6 points on 50.5 percent shooting (47.9 from beyond the arc) in nine games since being signed as a free agent. Small forward Solomon Hill is averaging nine points on 8-of-24 shooting in three games since scoring a career-high 30 on March 17.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (35-37): Nikola Jokic recorded 30 points, 17 rebounds and five assists in Friday’s win, boasting seven double-doubles and three triple-doubles in the last 12 games. “It’s almost like you want to see what he does next,” Malone told reporters of the 6-10 Jokic. “The guy is a treat to watch and fun to play with. The scary thing is he’s only going to get better.” Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (17.7 points) scored 21 and grabbed 11 rebounds Friday in his first game back from missing four with a knee injury while Chandler averaged 21 points in his last two contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Denver SG Gary Harris is averaging 19.2 points and shooting 58.9 percent from the field over the last five contests.
2. Holiday registered 36 assists and just six turnovers combined over the last five games.
3. Denver SG Will Barton drained 19 shots from 3-point range the last six games while averaging 20.2 points.