Jazz at Pelicans
There might not be a hotter team in the NBA right now than the Utah Jazz, who are riding a five-game winning streak that includes victories over Golden State and at Toronto and San Antonio. The Jazz will try to keep streaking when they continue a four-game road trip by visiting the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
Utah leaned on the defense to earn wins at Detroit and Toronto to begin the streak but put its foot on the gas offensively in a 129-99 drubbing of the defending champions on Tuesday and were similarly explosive in wins at Phoenix and San Antonio. "I think we've been better defensively and it makes the offense better," center Rudy Gobert told reporters after Saturday's 120-111 triumph over the Spurs. "We've been moving the ball and we've been sharing the ball. We kept making shots tonight. We had fun." The Jazz won in San Antonio despite being without rookie star Donovan Mitchell (flu), but the Pelicans are having less success overcoming an injury to one of their top players. New Orleans dropped to 1-3 in four games since All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins went down with an Achilles tear when they fell 118-107 at Minnesota on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS New Orleans
ABOUT THE JAZZ (24-28): One catalyst for Utah's recent offensive surge is point guard Ricky Rubio, who dropped a career-high 34 points on 11-of-14 shooting Saturday while handing out nine assists. Rubio, who is a career 38 percent shooter from the field and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, is averaging 19.2 points on 58.6 percent shooting during the five-game winning streak and is 10-of-16 from beyond the arc in that span. Rubio suffered through one of his worst games on Dec. 1 against New Orleans, when he went scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (28-24): New Orleans traded for power forward Nikola Mirotic in an effort to replace some of Cousins' lost production, and he made a solid team debut on Saturday. Mirotic collected 18 points, 12 rebounds and four steals off the bench while knocking down three 3-pointers in the setback at Minnesota. "He played well," All-Star forward Anthony Davis told reporters of Mirotic. "He was able to space the floor and make some great plays defensively. We're glad to have him. Now it's about trying to figure everything out, fitting him into the offense. We were just running random stuff and he was able to be successful."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pelicans PF Cheick Diallo recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday.
2. Jazz SG Rodney Hood (leg) returned from a six-game absence on Saturday and scored five points in 16 minutes off the bench.
3. New Orleans snapped a five-game losing streak in the series with a 108-98 triumph at Utah on Jan. 3.