Houston faces New Orleans, aims to stop 4-game slide

Houston Rockets (10-27, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (23-14, third in the Western Conference)

New Orleans; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Houston enters the matchup with New Orleans as losers of four games in a row.

The Pelicans are 15-9 in conference play. New Orleans ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 14.6 fast break points per game led by Zion Williamson averaging 2.9.

The Rockets have gone 5-19 against Western Conference opponents. Houston has a 1-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The teams play for the second time this season. The Pelicans won the last matchup 119-106 on Nov. 13. Williamson scored 26 points to help lead the Pelicans to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: CJ McCollum is shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Pelicans, while averaging 20 points and six assists. Williamson is averaging 24.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists over the past 10 games for New Orleans.

Jalen Green is shooting 32.7% from beyond the arc with 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Rockets, while averaging 21.4 points and 3.6 assists. Kevin Porter Jr. is averaging 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists over the last 10 games for Houston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pelicans: 5-5, averaging 118.7 points, 45.8 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.3 points per game.

Rockets: 1-9, averaging 106.7 points, 47.7 rebounds, 22.6 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.2 points.

INJURIES: Pelicans: E.J. Liddell: out (right knee), Zion Williamson: day to day (hamstring), Larry Nance Jr.: day to day (neck), Brandon Ingram: day to day (toe).

Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate: out (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.