NEW YORK – The New Orleans Pelicans (20-20) have been back on a win-one, lose-one trend lately, but will attempt to post consecutive victories Monday for the first time since Dec. 16-18. They’ll have to do so at Madison Square Garden without two of their best players, however, as Anthony Davis (sprained left toe) and Jrue Holiday (right ankle inflammation) have been ruled out of the Martin Luther King Day game against New York.
“We’re waiting for them to get to the point where they can get close to 100 percent,” Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said of Davis and Holiday. “They’re both day-to-day.”
The team’s starting power forward and point guard have both missed the last two games, which the Pelicans split in Philadelphia and Toronto (Holiday also missed Wednesday’s win at Detroit).
“We have to do what we did last night,” Williams said of compensating for the duo’s absences. “Stay the course. Guys have to play their roles. And we need somebody to step up like Alexis (Ajinca) did last night.”
Ajinca registered 16 points and 14 rebounds at Philadelphia, followed by a career-best 22 points at Toronto, a huge key to the win over the Raptors.
“He’s a prime example of a guy who’s continued to work on his game,” Williams said. “When his number was called, he was ready. Coaches have been telling us in our meetings that Alexis has been killing it. He’s been playing well and we’d love for it to continue.”