San Antonio Spurs (18-58, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (45-31, seventh in the Western Conference)
New Orleans; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans comes into the matchup with San Antonio as losers of three straight games.
The Pelicans are 9-6 against opponents in the Southwest Division. New Orleans ranks eighth in the league allowing just 110.6 points per game while holding opponents to 46.1% shooting.
The Spurs are 1-13 against the rest of the division. San Antonio is 10-30 in games decided by 10 points or more.
The Pelicans are shooting 48.6% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points lower than the 49.0% the Spurs allow to opponents. The Spurs are shooting 46.2% from the field, 0.1% higher than the 46.1% the Pelicans' opponents have shot this season.
The teams square off for the fourth time this season. In the last meeting on Feb. 3 the Pelicans won 114-113 led by 33 points from Zion Williamson, while Devin Vassell scored 28 points for the Spurs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jonas Valanciunas is shooting 56.0% and averaging 12.3 points for the Pelicans. Williamson is averaging 24.1 points over the last 10 games.
Victor Wembanyama is averaging 21.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.5 blocks for the Spurs. Vassell is averaging 17.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pelicans: 5-5, averaging 109.1 points, 41.5 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 8.3 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 47.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.2 points per game.
Spurs: 4-6, averaging 110.8 points, 46.3 rebounds, 29.6 assists, 6.9 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.1 points.
INJURIES: Pelicans: Brandon Ingram: out (knee), Jose Alvarado: out (hip).
Spurs: Jeremy Sochan: out for season (ankle), Devin Vassell: out for season (foot), Keldon Johnson: day to day (foot), Dominick Barlow: day to day (knee), Charles Bassey: out for season (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
