NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (6-18) at MAVERICKS (11-9)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: American Airlines Center, Dallas.
TV: Bally Sports Southwest.
Radio: The Eagle 97.1 FM; Univision Zona MX 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: They have won eight of their last nine meetings with New Orleans, including Wednesday’s 139-107 blasting when the Mavericks’ offense was historically good and the Pelicans’ defense was more than accommodating . . . The Mavericks have tried to establish a stronger home-court advantage, but so far are only 6-3 at AAC after losing to Washington and Cleveland in their two most recent home games. This is the first of three in a row at AAC with Memphis in town Saturday and Brooklyn visiting Tuesday . . . They hope to get Frank Ntilikina (calf injury) back soon, perhaps tonight . . . The Mavericks had a historic shooting night at New Orleans on Wednesday, making 68.7 percent of their shots. The previous franchise record was 67.7 set in 1983. Part of their success was rolling up a season-best 60 points in the paint. This came after they had surrendered 60 points in the paint to both Washington and Cleveland . . . What has gone mostly unmentioned is that the Mavericks took care of business defensively on Wednesday, too. New Orleans had just five fast-break points. They had given up 19 and 18 to Washington and Cleveland, respectively . . . After a chilly start, first-year Maverick Sterling Brown has begun to heat up, hitting 5-of-8 3-pointers and averaging 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds over the last four games, playing a shade under 15 minutes per game. Brown had started the season 6-of-29 from 3-point range
About the Pelicans: They have been wildly inconsistent this season, putting together strong wins at Utah and the LA Clippers sprinkled in with a slew of lopsided losses . . . It would seem natural that they would respond from Wednesday’s embarrassing home loss with a sharper effort . . . Indicative of the Pelicans’ struggles is center Jonas Valanciunas. He had a massive 39-point, 15-rebound game in the win over the Clippers earlier this week. Then he returned with a 1-of-8 shooting night against the Mavericks, when he had just six points and five rebounds. He still leads the NBA in 3-point shooting at 48.4 percent . . . They are hoping to get Josh Hart back from left knee soreness. Hart was a two-year teammate of Jalen Brunson at Villanova. Hart was there for one of the two championships Brunson won. The 6-5 forward averages 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds . . . Who won’t be back is Zion Williamson, the all-star forward who is recovering from foot surgery . . . Brandon Ingram was one of the few bright spots in Wednesday’s game as he rolled up 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting. It’s worth noting the Pelicans were minus-32 when Ingram was on the floor . . . This is the start of a two-game trip for them. It continues Sunday at Houston.
Twitter: @ESefko
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