NBA: Pelicans look to resume recent surge against visiting Suns

The Phoenix Suns begin a four-game road trip on Friday night with the first of back-to-back matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The weekend doubleheader in New Orleans marks the second and third of four contests between the Western Conference teams, with the Suns having won the first meeting in Phoenix, 121-98, on Nov. 10.

Phoenix’s blowout victory contributed to a rough start for New Orleans, but the Pelicans return home Friday having recently climbed out of the Western Conference cellar. New Orleans put together a season-best five-game winning streak from Dec. 11-22, accounting for more than half of its total wins this season.

The streak came to an end on Tuesday in Cleveland with a 141-118 loss. A silver lining for the Pelicans in the lopsided defeat was the continued standout performance of rookie Derik Queen, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

"He's having a massive impact out there against the top centers in the league," Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said of Queen. "He's been a big part of our recent success, and I expect that to continue."

The University of Maryland product has scored at least 16 points, grabbed at least seven rebounds, and recorded at least three assists in each of his last four games. During that stretch, he has faced notable centers including Alperen Sengun of Houston, Anthony Davis of Dallas, and Cleveland's Jarrett Allen.

New Orleans has also received significant contributions from Trey Murphy III, who had a streak of seven consecutive games scoring at least 20 points from Dec. 2-18. Murphy scored 14 points Tuesday, slightly lowering his scoring average to 20.6 points per game.

He trails only Zion Williamson, who is averaging 21.8 points per game after scoring 26 points in Cleveland. Williamson, who has returned from a six-game absence due to an adductor injury, has come off the bench but has scored 24 or more points in three consecutive contests.

The Pelicans were without Williamson in their previous matchup against Phoenix, when Suns guard Grayson Allen erupted for a career-high 42 points.

Phoenix scoring leaders Devin Booker (25.4 points per game) and Dillon Brooks (21.8) delivered strong performances in the Suns’ 132-108 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Brooks finished with 25 points, while Booker added 21 points and 11 assists.

Booker’s playmaking set the tone, with Phoenix scoring 35 of its 50 field goals off assists.

"Book's ability to create a close-out just by his presence on the floor ... that's what we want to do," Suns coach Jordan Ott said. "However we can create an advantage, put defenses in close-outs to free up open teammates."

Tuesday also saw key contributions from Mark Williams, who had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Collin Gillespie, who made four of eight 3-pointers on the way to 16 points.

Gillespie has scored 16 points in each of his last three games and has hit multiple 3-pointers in three of his last four contests.

—Field Level Media/Reuters