Charlotte @ New Orleans preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 24, 2018 ) New Orleans 101, Charlotte 96

The New Orleans Pelicans pushed their way up the Western Conference standings with 10 straight wins and are trying not to fall too far back after dropping back-to-back contests. The Pelicans will try to find the win column again and maintain a grip on the No. 4 spot in the West when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.

New Orleans watched its winning streak come to an end while superstar Anthony Davis (ankle) sat out a loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday and could not come up with a win even in Davis' return while falling to a team behind it in the standings -- the Utah Jazz -- on Sunday. "I think, during the win streak, we had a lot of resilience," Pelicans guard Ian Clark told the team's website. "We'd get down. Teams would make runs and we would be able to bounce back. The last two games we have been wavering there, but I think we can get back to it." New Orleans will have to get back to it against a Hornets team that snapped a five-game slide with a 122-115 win over the lowly Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Charlotte played its way out of playoff contention in the East during the slide and is kicking off a five-game road trip against the Pelicans.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), FS New Orleans

ABOUT THE HORNETS (29-38): The Suns were playing without leading scorer Devin Booker, but Charlotte was happy to pick up any win. "Hey, so sometimes you just have to win a game," Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "How about that? That's what I told the guys. No, I mean it. You lose five in a row, and at the end of the day, why do they invent competition? Some guy can win; some guy can lose. ... We needed to win a game and we won a game, so that's it. That's how I feel. It's what I'm saying and I'm sticking with it. How about that?" Dwight Howard led the way with 30 points and 12 rebounds in the win -- his second 30-point outburst in the last three games.

ABOUT THE PELICANS (38-28): Davis turned in a triple-double on Sunday with 25 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks but was in no mode to talk about his individual success after the loss. "It doesn't matter," Davis told reporters. "We lost, so I don't really care about any career high or anything like that. We lost." New Orleans entered Monday tied with two other teams for the No. 4 spot but is just 1 1/2 games ahead of a trio of teams tied for the No. 8 spot and is staring at a three-game stretch against San Antonio, Houston and Boston after finishing up with Charlotte.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hornets C Cody Zeller (knee) sat out Saturday and is questionable for Tuesday.

2. Pelicans PF Nikola Mirotic totaled 13 points in the last two games after averaging 16.8 during the winning streak.

3. New Orleans took the last three in the series, including a 101-96 win at Charlotte on Jan. 24.

PREDICTION: Pelicans 119, Hornets 106