The New Orleans Pelicans will host the Sacramento Kings at Smoothie King Center on Thursday evening.

Sacramento (37-37) has won three of its last four games. It may be a case of "too little, too late" for the Kings, though, as they remain 5.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Still, the Kings have been playing impressive basketball recently. The team most recently took down the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. De'Aaron Fox led the way in the win, scoring 23 points and dishing out eight assists. Fox's breakout season has been a major factor in Sacramento's turnaround this season. The sophomore is averaging 17.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game this year. He will look to continue his strong play on Thursday.


New Orleans (31-45), meanwhile, is in the midst of a pitiful 1-9 stretch over its last 10 games. The team is still reeling from the fallout of superstar Anthony Davis's unfulfilled trade request at the deadline. Davis had played in just six of the team's last 10 contests, and has played only 21 minutes per game when he has suited up. He is considered day-to-day with a back injury and is questionable to play on Thursday, as the team is exercising caution with the star in hopes of trading him this offseason. The team has struggled mightily this season both with and without Davis. New Orleans is allowing the third-most points per game of any team in the league. The shoddy defense has led New Orleans to occupy 12th place in the Western Conference. The team is eliminated from playoff contention but will still hope to end its current three-game losing streak on Thursday.