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Suddenly, Pelicans are within two games of Spurs in Southwest

SAN ANTONIO – It may have seemed difficult to envision a few weeks ago, but after a winning December for the New Orleans Pelicans and a rough month for the San Antonio Spurs, the gap between the two clubs in the standings is only two games. For the second straight night, New Orleans (16-15) has a chance to pull within a game of one of its close competitors in the Western Conference. San Antonio (19-14) is also only one ahead of New Orleans in the loss column after its 7-10 mark in December, amid multiple injuries. On Dec. 1, New Orleans was 7-8, while San Antonio was 12-4.

Other notes from Wednesday’s pregame media availability:

  • Monty Williams on Jimmer Fredette, who made his biggest impact of the regular season in last night’s win over Phoenix: “Jimmer went out last night and played well, passed the ball, but I thought he competed. His defense was pretty good against Isaiah Thomas; he contested every shot. And he had four assists. We’re going to need that from him every time he steps on the floor.”
  • Gregg Popovich on Anthony Davis: “At this point, he’s in the top category of players, somebody’s who really progressed in every facet of the game, at both ends of the court. Also, doing it in a classy way. There’s no braggadocio about him or anything like that. He just comes and plays. He reminds me a lot of the way Tim (Duncan) has approached the game his whole career. He’s got nothing but great years ahead of him, that’s for sure.”
  • Tony Parker (hamstring) and Kawhi Leonard (hand) both remain sidelined by injuries for San Antonio. The Spurs have sometimes sat Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in the second game of back-to-backs, but they declined doing that in this situation Dec. 26 vs. New Orleans. Popovich gave no indication that he’d rest Duncan and Ginobili tonight, either.