Late-season losing streaks collide Tuesday when the New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Utah Jazz.
While losing has more benefit than winning for teams low in the standings, the Jazz (21-58) have more to gain by losing as they sit fourth from the bottom of the overall NBA pecking order with three games remaining in the season.
Utah is tied for last place in the Western Conference standings with the Sacramento Kings.
The Pelicans (25-54) have been only slightly better than the Jazz, but they don’t stand much to gain in the draft-positioning race. The Atlanta Hawks own New Orleans’ first-round pick this upcoming offseason, while the Chicago Bulls are in possession of the team’s second-round pick.
By trading their first-round pick last summer, the Pelicans did land Derik Queen, who has been finding his way through an up-and-down first season with 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds over 78 games (45 starts).
Fellow rookie Jeremiah Fears has scored 13.4 points with 3.3 assists in 79 games (46 starts) for New Orleans.
Without Trey Murphy III (ankle) and Dejounte Murray (hand) on Sunday, the Pelicans dropped a 112-108 decision to the Orlando Magic despite leading by 15 points in the third quarter and 10 points in the fourth. They were tied with 3:50 remaining.
Saddiq Bey scored 32 points, Fears had 19, Yves Missi added 18 with 13 rebounds and Zion Williamson delivered 17 points in 28 minutes. Williamson played in his 62nd game, his second most in seven NBA campaigns. He has averaged 21 points with 5.7 rebounds.
Tuesday will be New Orleans’ final home game of the season.
“Give (the fans) one more (and) bring some joy into our building,” Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego said. “One more run on Tuesday night and bring our best. That’s what I’m looking for, for our guys to bring their best.”
While the Pelicans are on an eight-game losing streak, the Jazz have lost nine consecutive games. The most recent defeat in that run was a 146-111 setback to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
It was the most points scored in a game this season by the champion Thunder. Their second-highest-scoring game was a 144-point effort on Nov. 21 against the Jazz.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen (hip), Keyonte George (hamstring) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) all are expected to miss the final handful of games.
Brice Sensabaugh (14.8 points per game) scored 34 points Sunday, his third most in a game this season. He is scoring 26 points over his last 11 games, including a 41-point effort March 18 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Brice’s biggest improvement is getting catch-and-shoots off,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “Shooting is a great weapon for him. Coming into the NBA (in 2023), he was for sure more of a scorer than a shooter. But for us now, and moving forward, if Brice gets a catch-and-shoot, we want him to shoot it.”
The Jazz will close their season with a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
