West-leading Thunder wary of struggling Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won six of their last seven games.

The New Orleans Pelicans have won five games all season.

Still, both teams are feeling pretty good -- albeit for different reasons -- going into their matchup Saturday night in New Orleans.

The Western Conference-leading Thunder cruised to a 129-92 road victory against Toronto on Thursday, the same night that the Pelicans ended a nine-game losing streak with a 126-124 home victory against Phoenix.

"We're having a lot of fun out there," Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort said.

Oklahoma City isn't likely to overlook New Orleans any more than it did the Raptors, one of the worst teams in the East, or Utah. The Jazz, who are neck and neck with the Pelicans for the worst record in the West, fell to the host Thunder 133-106 on Tuesday.

"It's the NBA," said Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 30 points in 30 minutes and sat out the fourth quarter Thursday in Toronto. "It's the best league in the world, the most talented players in the world. You can't slight anybody because they'll beat you. I don't ever play a team's record. I go out there and give my all, and my teammates do the same thing. That's why we have success."

The Thunder led the Raptors by 22 points early in the second quarter and by 34 at the end of the third quarter.

"I thought we were really ready to play from the jump," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. "The guys really came in with a business-like approach."

The Thunder beat the Pelicans 106-88 in the first meeting Nov. 13 in Oklahoma City. New Orleans was missing four starters and two other rotation players for that game, but the Pelicans are much healthier now.

Guards CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray missed the first meeting but have since returned. The Pelicans received a boost Thursday against the Suns when leading scorer Brandon Ingram (calf) returned from a five-game absence and Herbert Jones (shoulder), the team's best perimeter defender, returned from an 18-game absence. The result was just the second victory in 17 games.

"I told my teammates we just needed to get one (win)," McCollum said. "It's been a long season. We've been losing a lot, and there have been a lot of frustrating games.

"I know it's been hard to watch for a while. But we competed and we gave ourselves a chance. I liked the way we fought. If we play like that every night, we are going to have the chance to win a lot of games."

Ingram scored 21 of his 29 points in a game-turning third quarter in which New Orleans had 45 points, its season high in any quarter. McCollum had 13 points and three assists in the fourth quarter and Jones blocked Devin Booker's 3-pointer as time expired.

"Herb Jones is a leader," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "Even when he wasn't playing, he was talking to the coaches, he was talking to his teammates. He was watching film, showing guys where they could be better.

"He exemplifies what our program is all about. Without him on the floor, we're missing a lot. You could feel his presence from the time he stepped on the floor."

--Field Level Media