1) As a handful of Western Conference teams sit bunched tightly together in the standings around the No. 10 final play-in tournament spot, every game is a potential opportunity to shift the order in some fashion. Week 13 of the NBA schedule for New Orleans (14-26) brings the midway point of the 82-game regular season, with Tuesday’s home tilt vs. eighth-place Minnesota (20-20) being the 41st game both teams will play. Also on the docket for the Pelicans, a Thursday home game vs. the ninth-place LA Clippers (20-21) and Saturday’s visit to Brooklyn (25-13).
2) New Orleans had a chance to cut its gap behind No. 10 San Antonio (15-24) to a mere half-game Sunday, but the Pelicans couldn’t quite overtake Toronto late, falling to the Raptors by a 105-101 margin.
3) Watch postgame reaction from Willie Green, Jonas Valanciunas, Brandon Ingram and Jose Alvarado.
4) The 10th-place Spurs and Portland (15-24) are both 1.5 games ahead of New Orleans, while No. 12 Sacramento (16-26) is a game in front of the Pelicans. NOLA trails 1-0 in its season series vs. San Antonio, with the next head-to-head meeting taking place Feb. 12 in the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans are up 1-0 against Portland, not facing the Trail Blazers again until March 30 in Oregon.
5) New Orleans will practice Monday afternoon at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Check Pelicans.com later for a practice report, as well as the customary injury report ahead of Timberwolves-Pelicans.