Pelicans at 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are winners of seven in a row in their home arena and will try to keep the spirits in town high when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Philadelphia, which held a parade on Thursday for the Super Bowl champion Eagles, is looking to get another team into the playoffs and the 76ers are climbing the standings in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia gets the benefit of five straight home games heading into the All-Star break and began that run by knocking off the Washington Wizards 115-102 on Tuesday behind 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks from All-Star center Joel Embiid. "Coach (Brett Brown) always says guys like to think about the break," Embiid told reporters. "It's important that we take advantage of the opportunity to make a run, win these games, and then go into the break, and put ourselves in a good position for the playoff race." The Pelicans got an extra day of rest when their scheduled home game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday was postponed due to a leak in the arena roof that was causing rain to puddle on the court. "I've been in the NBA for thirty years," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters. "This is the first time this has ever happened. It's really tough and I feel really bad for the fans that came out to see a game and it didn't happen. Those are the people who I'm concerned the most about. We'll be able to reschedule it and play it."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS New Orleans, NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE PELICANS (28-25): New Orleans lost All-Star DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season due to an Achilles tear and made a trade to bring in power forward Nikola Mirotic from the Chicago Bulls, but the adjustment is taking some time. Mirotic struggled to five points on 2-of-8 shooting against Utah on Monday and was part of a defensive effort that allowed the Jazz to shoot 58.4 percent from the field in the 133-109 setback. "This is the first time we've stepped on the floor as teammates together," Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis told reporters of the adjustment. "We have to figure it out, similar to myself and DeMarcus when he first got here. That comes along with practicing and game time experience with each other on both ends of the floor."
ABOUT THE 76ERS (26-25): The Eagles' win invigorated the city and the arena was filled with fans wearing green on Monday, giving the 76ers a taste of what it would be like if they were to win as well. "It is always for us a reminder of what we hope to experience," Brown told reporters. "We want to start with earning a berth to the playoffs, that's our goal. We see what this city does, and how this city responds to that type of environment. They respect and applaud effort. They've been with us through many, many downtimes. We look forward to trying to reward them and play in front of them in a playoff atmosphere." Rookie point guard Ben Simmons echoed that sentiment after Monday's win and is doing his part to get the 76ers to the playoffs by shooting 65.9 percent from the floor over the last seven games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. 76ers SG JJ Redick went 4-of-5 from 3-point range on Tuesday after slumping to 1-of-10 in the previous two contests.
2. Pelicans PG Rajon Rondo scored 18 points on Monday, snapping a string of 12 straight games in single digits.
3. New Orleans PG Jrue Holiday scored 34 points in a 131-124 home win over Philadelphia on Dec. 10.