Sacramento @ New Orleans preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 26, 2017 ) New Orleans 114, Sacramento 106

New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins always gets up for games against his former team, but he might have some trouble getting over the bar he set for himself on Wednesday. Cousins will try to follow up a 40-point, 22-rebound effort when the Pelicans host the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

"I think he’s the most dominant player in our game, especially when he gets the ball in the post," New Orleans point guard Rajon Rondo told reporters of Cousins. "He demands double- and triple-teams. When you put three or four bigs in foul trouble every night, it speaks for itself." Cousins, who added four assists and four blocks to his big night in Wednesday's 123-114 win over the Denver Nuggets, has the Pelicans at 2-1 in three games since fellow frontcourt star Anthony Davis went down with a groin injury. The Kings traded Cousins to New Orleans during the All-Star break last season and will battle their former franchise player with veteran Zach Randolph in the frontcourt. Randolph, 36, led Sacramento with 18 points in Wednesday's 101-95 loss at Cleveland and paces the young team at an average of 14.1 points.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Sacramento), FS New Orleans

ABOUT THE KINGS (7-17): Sacramento lost some of the length it could throw at Cousins on the defensive end when center Willie Cauley-Stein went down with a back strain and did not join the team on the trip. Small forward JaKarr Sampson got the start with a smaller lineup at Cleveland and shined while hauling in a career-high 16 rebounds in 33 minutes. Sampson, who got his first extended run of the season with 25 minutes at Milwaukee after Cauley-Stein went down on Saturday, also had the misfortune of trying to guard LeBron James and could not get his hand on a key 3-pointer by the superstar down the stretch in the loss.

ABOUT THE PELICANS (13-12): Cousins is averaging 32.3 points in three games without Davis and recorded his second 40-20 game of the season on Wednesday, but coach Alvin Gentry was more interested in his effort on the defensive end. "I know you guys look at the forty points, but he was really good defensively, I thought," Gentry told reporters. "That’s what we needed for him to be. We know that the points and everything were there, but I thought he did a great job in the screen-and-rolls and this is what they really hurt us with the last time." Cousins' first 40-20 effort came at Sacramento on Oct. 26, when he finished with 41 points and 23 boards in a 114-106 win.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday totaled 61 points on 25-of-41 shooting over the last two games.

2. Kings rookie PG De'Aaron Fox scored in single digits in five of the last six games.

3. New Orleans took both meetings against Sacramento since acquiring Cousins.

PREDICTION: Pelicans 116, Kings 107