Ambitious Pelicans aim to extend Hornets' struggles

The New Orleans Pelicans had a good road trip that ended on a bad note.

New Orleans had won three of four games before squandering a seven-point lead in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter to fall 125-120 to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. The Pelicans had two chances to tie the contest in the final 17.7 seconds, but they came up short both times.

After failing to cap its road trip with a win, New Orleans will play its first home game in 12 days when it faces the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.

"It was a solid road trip," Pelicans coach Willie Green said after practice on Tuesday. "But we all left the building (Monday) feeling like we should have won. It's good to be back home."

New Orleans begins the second half of the season Wednesday night having won seven of its past 10 games.

"We expected to go 4-1 (on the road trip), but we let one get away," Pelicans center/forward Larry Nance Jr. said. "3-2 is great, (seven wins in 10 games) is great, but why not 8-2, why not 9-1, why not 10-0?"

New Orleans defeated Sacramento and Golden State by a combined 69 points to start the trip before losing 125-113 to Denver and splitting two games with the Mavericks.

"When you're gone for 10 days and five games, the first game back is normally a trap game," Green said. "We had a really good practice, and we want that to carry over to the first game."

The Pelicans have won eight of their past 10 road games to improve to 12-9 away from home this season. They are 12-8 in New Orleans.

"That's not what it should be," Nance said.

The game against Charlotte starts a four-game homestand for the Pelicans.

"Big-picture-wise," Green said, "I think we are in a good place."

The Hornets are mired in a five-game losing streak and have lost 16 of their past 17 games.

"It's tough," Charlotte guard Terry Rozier said. "You hate losing all these games. You put all the work in and feel like we deserve to win. But that's just the way the league is right now. It's super tough to win. We've just got to do the little things and we will."

Charlotte scored just 31 first-half points in a 104-87 loss at Miami on Sunday, but Hornets coach Steve Clifford said defense would be the focus during practice ahead of the game at New Orleans, which concludes a three-game road trip.

The Hornets allowed an average of 125.7 points in the three games prior to the loss against the Heat.

"What we haven't done ... (is) we haven't defended anywhere the level that we were, and that's what we have to get back to," Clifford said. "That's the trick in this league. It's usually the way it goes. It'll be a week of this, a week of that."

Rozier suggested that the team might hold a players-only meeting in order to "figure it out."

"As bad as things are going," Rozier added, "we (aren't that far) behind a (play-in tournament spot). We win the next three, things can turn for us. We've just got to believe that as a team and put that effort toward it."