A pair of Western Conference teams looking to gain some ground in the playoff picture take the floor in the Big Easy in search of a victory. The Utah Jazz are on the road as they make the trip to take on the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday night. Utah comes in off a 130-118 road win over San Antonio in their previous contest, covering the line as a three-point favorite, Tuesday night. New Orleans let one slip away as they were beaten 116-115 in overtime by Memphis at home Tuesday night. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Jazz own a 48-26 advantage and have won the last five meetings. That includes a 114-112 home win in the most recent matchup on November 27.

Utah Jazz Seeking Fourth Straight Win

Utah won their third straight game on the road as they took down the Spurs in San Antonio Tuesday night. The Jazz enter this game 13-18 on the season and stood fourth in the Northwest Division, 10 games behind the Timberwolves for the top spot. They were 12th in the Western Conference standings, five games behind Sacramento for the final guaranteed playoff spot and 2.5 games behind the Warriors for the final spot in the play-in tournament. Against San Antonio, Utah trailed by as many as 15 in the opening quarter before trimming the margin to five at the end of the stanza. The Jazz rallied to lead by four at the half and led the rest of the way despite the Spurs’ best efforts to try and regain the lead. Utah shot 49.5% from the field, including 16 of 43 from three-point range, and controlled the glass by a 53-43 margin. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 31 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
The Jazz comes into this contest 19th in the league in scoring offense with 113.5 points per game this season. Utah is 4th in rebounding by pulling down 46.2 boards per night while standing 8th by dishing out 27.2 assists a night. The Jazz are 24th in the league in scoring defense as they allow 119.3 points per contest. Lauri Markkanen leads the Jazz as he puts up 24 points plus 8.8 rebounds per contest. Jordan Clarkson (17.6 points, 5.1 assists), John Collins (13.9 points, eight rebounds) and Collin Sexton (15.3 points) are capable scoring options. Walker Kessler, Talen Horton-Tucker (11.4 points, 4.5 assists), Simone Fontecchio, Keyonte George (10.9 points, five assists), Kris Dunn and Ochai Agbaji are important pieces for coach Will Hardy. Utah is shooting 45.7% from the field, which is 26th in the league in field goal percentage. The Jazz knock down an average of 13.3 triples per game, which is 9th in the league, and stand 21st in three-point field goal percentage by knocking down 35.7% of their attempts from beyond the arc.

Utah has no injuries to report entering Wednesday so they should have their full complement of a roster here.

New Orleans Pelicans Trying to Get Untracked

New Orleans dropped their second straight and their third in four games as they were knocked off by Memphis in overtime. The Pelicans entered Wednesday 17-14 on the season and stood second in the Southwest Division, 1.5 games behind the Mavericks for the top spot. They were seventh in the Western Conference playoff picture, six games behind Minnesota for the top spot. The team was one game behind the Kings for the final guaranteed playoff spot and two games ahead of the Suns to remain in the play-in tournament field. Against Memphis, New Orleans trailed by five after the opening quarter, led by five at the half and by as many as 15 in the final seconds of the third quarter. Leading by 13 after three quarters, the Pelicans fell apart but seemed poised to earn the win up one with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Instead, Jonas Valanciunas fouled Jaren Jackson Jr. with 0.1 seconds remaining: Jackson Jr. hit one of two free throw attempts to force overtime. During the extra session, the Pelicans gave up six unanswered points to trail 115-109 and couldn’t rally to get the win. New Orleans shot 43.3% from the field, including 10 of 31 from three-point range, and clanked 12 of their 33 free throw attempts in the game. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the loss.
On the season, the Pelicans are 13th in the league in scoring offense as they average 115.7 points per game on the season. New Orleans is 12th in rebounding by collecting 44.4 boards a night while the team ranks 12th in assists by dishing out 26.1 dimes a night. The Pelicans are 13th in the league in scoring defense as they allow 113.4 points per game so far this year. Brandon Ingram puts up 23.1 points plus 5.4 assists per contest this season while Zion Williamson adds 22.3 points plus 6.1 rebounds a night. CJ McCollum (19.6 points, four rebounds, 4.8 assists), Jonas Valanciunas (14.7 points, 9.9 rebounds) and Jordan Hawkins (10.7 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Herbert Jones (10.6 points), Najj Marshall, Matt Ryan (9.3 points), Dyson Daniels, Kira Lewis Jr., Trey Murphy (15.5 points), Jose Alvarado, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller are key pieces in the Pelicans’ rotation. New Orleans is 11th in field goal percentage by shooting 48% from the field as a team this season. The Pelicans are 25th in the league in threes per game as they knock down 11.3 triples per contest and stand 16th in three-point shooting by hitting 36.4% percent from beyond the arc.

Ryan (elbow) is expected to be out until mid-February after surgery while Nance Jr. (ribs) is slated to be out until mid-January.