Pelicans at Hawks
The New Orleans Pelicans are playing out the string in a disappointing campaign, but they have a three-game road winning streak heading into Sunday's visit to the Atlanta Hawks. The Pelicans followed up the three consecutive victories on the road by losing two straight at home, including Friday's 127-104 setback to Toronto while playing without star forward Anthony Davis.
The 25-year-old All-Star, who has already seen his minutes cut back, sat out the lopsided loss because of a back issue and is considered questionable for Sunday. The Hawks have lost three in a row by a total of 10 points, the latest a 114-112 setback at home to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Rookie Trae Young notched his first career triple-double with 23 points, 11 assists and 10 boards as Atlanta dropped to 11-21 at home. John Collins also had a big performance in defeat with 33 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS New Orleans, FS Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (30-38): In addition to Davis, New Orleans also missed second-leading scorer Jrue Holiday (abdominal strain) and fellow guard E'Twaun Moore on Friday, which made for an uphill climb for a makeshift lineup. "I still think that we competed and to me, that's the most important thing. I don't really care who we put out there," coach Alvin Gentry told reporters. Frank Jackson scored 20 points against Toronto while Cheick Diallo finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in five games this month.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (22-45): Collins recorded the first 30-point, 20-rebound game for an Atlanta player since Kevin Willis on April 13, 1993, and Young continued a torrid pace that has seen him average 27.9 points in nine games since the All-Star break. The 20-year-old has insisted his gaudy statistics mean little in the course of the team's rebuild and that he is eager to get Atlanta over the hump. "Numbers are cool. They go in record books and things like that but at the end of the day all that matters to me is a win," Young told reporters. "If we don't win those numbers don't mean anything to me."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jackson has zero assists in 80 minutes over his last three games.
2. Hawks SG Kevin Huerter is 3-for-18 from the floor through the first two games of his team's four-game homestand.
3. The teams split two meetings last season with each team winning by one point at home.