Before any Christmas Day festivities can be enjoyed, the New Orleans Pelicans have one more item of business to attend to: facing the Thunder in Oklahoma City on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Pelicans have won just once in three tries with no days rest in between games thus far this season, a 124-110 victory over the Bulls in Chicago on Nov. 16.
In addition to that hurdle, the Thunder are legitimate competition. They’ve won three straight games and sit only two games out of the Western Conference play-in tournament seeding. And they’re led by one of the most explosive guards in the league.