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1)      The New Orleans Pelicans (38-26) defeated the Sacramento Kings (20-45) last night to push their win streak to ten, tying the franchise high. The Pelicans look to break the tie on Friday, March 9 against the Washington Wizards in the Smoothie King Center. If you missed the Pelicans game against the Kings, read the postgame recap. 

2)      Anthony Davis left the game late in the third quarter with an ankle injury, but Jrue Holiday and Nikola Mirotic took control in the fourth quarter to lead the Pelicans to victory. 

3)      If you missed the game last night, be sure to check out highlights and photos from the Pelicans win. 

4)      After going 3-0 on the road, the Pelicans return to the Smoothie King Center on Friday, March 9 as they take on the Washington Wizards. Guys Night Out tickets are available as well as single tickets, make sure you're there to watch the Pelicans make history. 

5)      Get to know more about rookie Pelicans Dance Team member Cailyn in her spotlight video. 

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Five things to know about the Pelicans on March 8, 2018

Jim Eichenhofer

SACRAMENTO – Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday are both in the midst of arguably the best stretches of their respective NBA careers, but New Orleans’ recent success hasn’t only been a two-man show. In extending their winning streak to a franchise record-tying 10 games Wednesday, several of the lesser-known Pelicans stepped to the forefront, helping the visitors build an 18-point halftime edge and win comfortably.

Unfortunately for New Orleans and Davis, the five-time All-Star exited the game in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain. X-rays on the injury were negative, and he was listed as questionable to return to the game, but he did not get back into action.

Nikola Mirotic, Ian Clark and E’Twaun Moore were among the New Orleans role players who started quickly, combining to score 31 first-half points, exactly half of their team’s total en route to a 62-44 intermission advantage. Sacramento was more competitive in the second half, but never seriously threatened the lead.

New Orleans will return home Friday to face Washington, the Pelicans’ first home game in 11 days.

Mirotic drained a left-wing three-pointer, then Holiday converted a traditional three-point play, giving New Orleans a 99-82 lead with 5:40 remaining. Sacramento had trimmed what was once a 23-point deficit down to near single digits, but the Pelicans only needed a final push to essentially settle matters.

Among the numerous positive signs that have occurred lately, Mirotic was tremendous at his forte during the three-game West road trip, repeatedly swishing open three-pointers. The forward enjoyed perhaps his best offensive performance Wednesday since joining the Pelicans, scoring 26 points on only 12 shots from the field. His 10/12 outing featured 4/6 three-point accuracy, making him 13/26 from deep on the perfect excursion to Dallas, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

“I feel fine. But I’m going to have the team doctor take a look at it (Thursday) and go from there.” – Davis, after being asked about the condition of his ankle and what the next step will be for evaluation

“Any time you twist an ankle it hurts, especially when you come down on somebody’s foot, because you really don’t have any protection. It was sore... I just wanted to make sure everything was fine... It’ll be alright.” – Davis in the postgame locker room, expressing optimism that his ankle will ultimately be OK

“Now everyone understands their role, what we need to do. Bench guys, starters. This is not a selfish team. We’ve been trying to find the guy who is hot at that moment. Rajon (Rondo) is doing a great job with that, and Jrue (on Tuesday in Los Angeles) had 17 assists.” – Mirotic on the Pelicans playing team basketball to excellent results

"It feels good to go back home, play in front of our fans again, sleep in our own beds. We've got to take care of business. We've got some tough teams coming in." - Davis on New Orleans now getting eight of its next nine games in the Smoothie King Center

“If you’re a New Orleans fan that team is playing very, very well. They’re well-coached, they’re in a rhythm, they’ve got experience and they’ve got shooting all over the place so they have a lot of space to make plays. It was tough cover for us tonight and obviously they shot the basketball well but they were very, very comfortable just looking over the top of us and just shooting. Hats off to them – like I said, they’re playing very well and wish them the best in the playoffs.” – Sacramento’s Dave Joerger on the Pelicans

7: New Orleans road wins on this 10-game overall winning streak. The franchise record for consecutive away victories is eight, set by the Southwest Division-winning 2007-08 club.

41.9: Sacramento shooting percentage from the field, representing one of New Orleans’ better defensive performances lately. On the other end of the floor, NOLA shot 56.6 percent.

5: Davis blocked shots. He seemed to toy with the Kings at times on the defensive end, perhaps approaching his career high of nine until he had to exit due to the ankle injury.

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Postgame recap: Pelicans 114, Kings 101

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Game 64: Pelicans at Kings 3-7-18

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In the Game: Pelicans at Kings 11-8-16

Trailing by as many as 17 points at one stage of the second half and still down double digits in the fourth period, New Orleans rallied for one of its best comeback wins of 2015-16 in a Western Conference matchup. The Pelicans outscored the Kings 32-23 in the fourth quarter to erase what had been a six-point deficit through three periods, led by Jrue Holiday’s nine points in the stanza. Holiday made big plays at both ends during the final minute, sinking a 19-foot jumper to put the hosts up by three, then coming up with a steal on Sacramento’s final possession. Dante Cunningham also converted a momentous basket, hitting a corner three-pointer that put New Orleans up 111-110 with 35 seconds to go. Cunningham had made just two three-pointers in his career prior to this season, but has connected on 40 of them in 2015-16. The Pelicans improved to 3-0 head-to-head against the Kings this season, with one more meeting remaining next week in California’s capital city.

Jrue Holiday aggressively defended against Kings point guard Darren Collison as Collison tried to advance the ball into the frontcourt in the final seconds, poking the ball away and coming up with a game-clinching steal. Holiday then dribbled out the last few seconds to wrap up the three-point victory.

For a second straight game, Anthony Davis started slowly but ignited in the second half. Davis only had eight points at halftime Monday, but finished with 31 after a 23-point latter half. The three-time All-Star power forward finished 13-for-21 from the field and had 10 rebounds to go with three steals and one block. Davis and three other starters were pulled from the game not long into the first quarter after Sacramento played with much more energy, but enjoyed a turnaround later in the night.

Alonzo Gee registered nine points and seven rebounds in only 20 minutes of action, while providing a much-needed boost of energy off the bench. As is usually the case, Gee did most of his offensive damage around the rim, deposing three layups and one dunk to account for his 4/6 shooting from the field.

“On the steal, I was actually going for the foul. Coach (Alvin Gentry) was telling us to foul. I don’t know if the ball was just placed in the right place, but obviously when you go for the foul, you try to go for the steal too. I got a lot of ball.” – Holiday on swiping the ball from Collison to ice the win

“We’re going to keep playing, no matter what the score is or what the situation is, playoffs or no playoffs. We’re going to keep playing. When you do that, good things tend to happen. That’s what happened tonight.” – Davis on continue to give effort amid New Orleans having a slim chance at the postseason

“He gave us great minutes. He’s a big body, good defender, smart on the court. It makes it easy on everybody else with how vocal he is. It makes it easier for us to react, without having to look over our shoulder the whole time.” – Cunningham on Kendrick Perkins’ contributions, partly in defending Sacramento star DeMarcus Cousins

2: New Orleans turnovers in the second half, after coughing up 15 prior to intermission.

7: Steals in the fourth quarter by the Pelicans, including one by six different players.

7/25: The exact same three-point accuracy (28 percent) both teams shot Monday. Foul shooting damaged New Orleans’ chances to win (18/26), but the hosts were able to overcome it.

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Postgame: Pelicans 115, Kings 112

From pretty much Day 1 of training camp back in October, things have never come easily for the 2015-16 New Orleans Pelicans. So maybe it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that 24 hours before one of their most important games of the season, the status of their two-time All-Star forward, as well as their third-leading scorer, are uncertain.

Pelicans forward Anthony Davis continued Wednesday to undergo tests as part of the NBA’s concussion protocol, after he was inadvertently elbowed in the head by teammate Tyreke Evans during Monday’s 112-111 loss to Houston. Meanwhile, Evans is dealing with right knee tendinitis, an issue that has hampered him this month, after he underwent surgery in October. It is unclear whether Davis or Evans will be in uniform Thursday, when New Orleans (16-28) hosts Sacramento (20-25) in a pivotal Western Conference matchup. The Pelicans are 3.5 games behind the Kings, who are tied with Portland (21-26) for eighth place in the West. New Orleans holds a 1-0 edge in the season series over Sacramento, with two of three remaining meetings scheduled for the Smoothie King Center.

“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry said of Davis’ status. “He’s feeling a little better it seems, but obviously he’s got to pass all of the tests. You go through certain steps. He went through some this morning, too. I don’t know the exact procedure, but it is done by the NBA. I just talked to him and he seems fine, but there are things (the tests) have to see on paper that makes him (officially) fine (and cleared to play).”

Evans underwent an MRI on his right knee yesterday, but the test only found tendinitis. The guard was removed from Monday’s game early in the third quarter, after he’d only played 16 minutes. He averages 30.6 per game this season.

“He had an MRI yesterday,” Gentry said. “Nothing showed up, just a little tendinitis. With him, if it’s hurting him, we’ve got to limit his minutes. If he’s sitting out (it means he’s injured). He’s as solid as they come as far as getting out there, playing through it and things like that. As a coach, I’ve got to monitor it more, for his own protection. He’s the type of guy who’s going to try to get out there and play (despite pain).”

Evans said he will evaluate Thursday his ability to play against Sacramento, his former NBA team. Evans: "I'll wait and see. I'll go home, ice, do some stim work and see how it feels tomorrow... I want to play as bad as anything, so if I don't play, you'll know it's really bothering me."

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Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans status uncertain for key Sacramento game

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