Los Angeles @ New Orleans preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2019 ) L.A. Lakers 130, New Orleans 102

Anthony Davis can count on hearing a lot of boos when he returns to New Orleans as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers to face the Pelicans on Wednesday. Davis spent his first seven seasons with New Orleans but forced the franchise to trade him in the offseason and he ended up with the Lakers in a blockbuster deal.

New Orleans acquired forward Brandon Ingram and guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart in the package and Davis knows the trio will be gunning for the Lakers. "It's going to be me (versus the) Pelicans, and then the three guys, if they play, against the Lakers. So it's going to be a great battle. Those guys are going to try to take our heads off just to prove a point." Davis has certainly boosted the fortunes of the Lakers as his pairing with forward LeBron James has helped the team to an NBA-best 15-2 start. Los Angeles will be looking to stretch its winning streak to nine games against a New Orleans squad that has yet to have No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson on the floor due to preseason knee surgery.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE LAKERS (15-2): James has been flourishing this season and he had another stellar effort in Monday's 114-104 road win over the San Antonio Spurs when he recorded 33 points and 14 assists. "He was unbelievable," Los Angeles coach Frank Vogel told reporters. "I gave him opportunities to get a quick blow around timeouts if he wanted to, and he said he felt good, feeling fresh. He just dominated the action. He was quarterbacking us on the defensive end, and really made every play offensively." Davis contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double in three games and sixth of the season.

ABOUT THE PELICANS (6-11): Ingram has been superb with the Pelicans with a 26.1 scoring average, topping 20 points in 12 of his 13 appearances, and he is definitely interested in seeing what type of reaction Davis receives. "I'm not sure," Ingram told reporters. "I don't know if they're going to boo him or going to clap, but he's a great player that we have to game plan for." Ingram had 24 points and eight rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday but New Orleans was routed 134-109.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Lakers went 3-1 against the Pelicans last season.

2. New Orleans C Derrick Favors (back) could return after a five-game absence while Hart (ankle) has missed the past seven contests and Ball (stomach virus) sat out Tuesday's practice.

3. Los Angeles SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 14 points against the Spurs for his sixth straight double-digit outing.

PREDICTION: Lakers 113, Pelicans 111