Last week: Lost at Indiana 107-85, beat Sacramento 110-102, lost at Cleveland 100-98, lost to Utah 114-107
This week: Sunday at Boston, Friday vs. Oklahoma City
The Charlotte Hornets had their share of struggles last week, losing three of four to take much of the glow off three straight wins going into the week. Devonte’ Graham hit his first really rough stretch this season, shooting 23.9 percent overall over the four games and making 29.8 percent on 11.8 3-point tries a game.
Veteran big man Cody Zeller stepped up to have a nice week, starting three games and coming off the bench Saturday against the Jazz. He averaged 16.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.7 minutes per game, shooting 56.4 percent overall and going 0-for-4 from deep. Zeller was one of the bright spots in the loss at Indiana with 19 points and 12 boards.
Last week: Lost to Orlando 130-119, lost to Brooklyn 108-101 (OT), won at Minnesota 107-99, lost at Golden State 106-102
This week: Monday at Portland, Wednesday at Denver, Saturday vs. Indiana
The good news for the New Orleans Pelicans was they ended their franchise-record 13-game losing streak with a road win at Minnesota on Wednesday, their first victory since winning at Phoenix on Nov. 21. The Pelicans couldn’t make it two in a row, coming back from 20 down to lead at Golden State in the fourth quarter before losing to the Warriors for the second time this year.
Brandon Ingram continued to produce amid the maelstrom of losing for New Orleans, averaging 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.6 minutes per game over the four games, shooting 47.4 percent overall and making 29.2 percent on 6.0 3-point tries a night. He had 34 points, six boards, five dimes and three steals in the win over the Timberwolves.