1) New Orleans went up big early Sunday and relied on plays from Jose Alvarado, Jonas Valanciunas and others in clutch time to hold off a fourth-quarter push by Atlanta, posting a 117-112 road victory.
2) Watch postgame video reaction from Alvarado, Valanciunas, CJ McCollum and Willie Green.
3) With three weeks remaining in the regular season, there is plenty at stake for the vast majority of the league. New Orleans (30-41) has moved into ninth place in the Western Conference, bumping the Lakers (30-41) down to the No. 10 spot. If the Pelicans remain ninth, they’ll host the 9-10 game to open the mid-April play-in tournament.
4) New Orleans is right back in action Monday with a 6 p.m. Central game at Charlotte (36-35), which holds the No. 9 spot in the East. Pregame coverage on Bally Sports and 100.3 FM starts at 5:30.
5) After visiting the Hornets to open Week 23, the rest of NOLA’s slate is a three-game homestand, starting with Chicago on Thursday, followed by a back-to-back vs. San Antonio and the Lakers on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, the Lakers have a bit less hectic itinerary – at Cleveland tonight, followed by a Wednesday home game vs. Philadelphia, then Sunday’s trip to the Crescent City. San Antonio (28-44) is in 11th, 2.5 games behind both the Pelicans and Lakers. Besides Saturday’s visit to the Big Easy, the Spurs only have one other game in Week 23, a Wednesday home contest vs. No. 12 Portland (26-44, 3.5 games back of NOLA and LAL).