On Sunday, the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs both won despite suffering difficult defeats.
When they meet Tuesday night in New Orleans, they will try to build on that success.
On Friday, the Pelicans (34-37) led the host Rockets by 15 points with less than 10 minutes left, but rookie Jabari Smith Jr. hit a 3-pointer with less than a second left and the Pelicans lost 114-112 to the Rockets.
New Orleans was much more consistent when the teams met again two nights later in Houston. They took the lead in the first quarter, led by double digits for most of the game, and held off repeated Rockets attempts to win 117-107.
The Pelicans’ victory kept them in the middle of the Western Conference play-in tournament queue.
Sunday, the Pelicans led the Rockets by as many as 20 points. They saw their lead shrink to eight points with over six minutes left, but this time they kept the home team safe.
The Spurs had lost three straight games in overtime in which they had led by double digits, including a 29-point lead in the third quarter in a 126-120 defeat to Memphis on Friday.
However, San Antonio (19-52) prevailed 126-118 over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Sunday after overcoming a 24-point deficit.
In part because the Spurs shot 58% from the field after the half, San Antonio outscored Atlanta 65-35 in the second half.
In the third quarter, the Spurs outscored the Hawks 39-20 and hit 8 of 12 3-pointers to pull within 103-100 at the break.
After winning in San Antonio, 129-110 on Nov. 23, 117-99 on Dec. 2, and 126-117 on Dec. 22 in New Orleans, New Orleans is attempting to sweep the season series.
