Hawks at Pelicans
The Atlanta Hawks continue to make strides as their rebuilding season winds down, winning four of their past seven games entering Tuesday night’s visit to the struggling New Orleans Pelicans. Atlanta has won four of its past seven games with back-to-back victories over playoff teams, including Saturday’s 129-127 home triumph over Philadelphia in which rookie Trae Young sank the game-winning basket with 0.1 seconds remaining.
“Those are the types of plays you live for, with the clock counting down,” Young told reporters after leading the Hawks with 32 points. “I just wanted to get to my strong suit and get to my pull-up, that mid-range floater I have.” Like the Hawks, New Orleans has been eliminated from playoff consideration but unlike Atlanta, the Pelicans have dropped eight of their past nine games after Sunday’s 113-90 home defeat to Houston. Guard Frank Jackson scored 19 points in the victory for New Orleans, which is using the final games of the season to evaluate young talent. “You want to win and compete every game, but there’s a bigger picture that we have to look at,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told the media before Sunday’s loss.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS New Orleans
ABOUT THE HAWKS (26-48): Young continues his late push for rookie of the year consideration, averaging 23.7 points and 8.9 assists while shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range in his past 27 games. John Collins leads Atlanta in scoring at 19.4 points and rebounding at 9.7 per game, shooting 56.5 percent from the field. The Hawks remain last in the NBA in points allowed per game (118.6) and turnovers per contest (17.1).
ABOUT THE PELICANS (31-44): Jackson posted his ninth consecutive double-digit scoring game Sunday and is averaging 15.1 points in 31.1 minutes per game across his past 13 contests. Christian Wood, who averaged 29.1 points and 14 rebounds per game for Wisconsin of the G-League this season, scored seven points in eight minutes Sunday in his Pelicans debut. New Orleans ranks third in the NBA in scoring (115.4 points per game) but has averaged 93 points across its past two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New Orleans guards Jrue Holiday (strained abdomen) and E’Twaun Moore (bruised left quadriceps) each have missed the past eight games.
2. Young recorded 11 assists Saturday, marking his fifth game this season with at least 30 points and 10 assists.
3. Pelicans C Anthony Davis, who has not played in four of the past 11 games, scored 12 points with 10 rebounds in 20 minutes Sunday.