The New Orleans Pelicans have done poorly in every game that has been decided by three or fewer points.
In fact they are 0-6 in such games, which include each of their past three defeats.
Thursday night New Orleans hosts the Utah Jazz, who have five- and two-point victories against them on Nov. 25 and 27 in Salt Lake City.
The Pelicans also have done poorly with double-digit leads. They led by as many as 15 points in the game and by 13 points at the end of the third quarter before losing to the Grizzlies. That came seven days after they lost a 24-point second-quarter lead in a 115-113 defeat, also at home, against the Grizzlies.
The Jazz overcame a slow start in a 130-118 victory at San Antonio on Tuesday night. It was their third straight victory during a five-game road trip that concludes in New Orleans.
It’s also healthy after Keyonte George and Talen Horton-Tucker returned from injury against the Spurs, giving Hardy a healthy rotation for the first time since Nov. 22.
The Jazz have won six of eight overall. Jordan Clarkson scored 24 against the Spurs after scoring 30 three nights earlier against Toronto in his return from a six-game absence due to a thigh injury. He also had eight assists and six rebounds against San Antonio.
Utah fell behind the Spurs 32-17 after the first 8:40 of action before turning things around with a 10-0 run to close the quarter. The Jazz then scored 103 points the rest of the way.
