The New Orleans Pelicans (39 - 34) defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves (16 - 57), 110 - 88, on Sunday at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans needed to take advantage of Sunday's favorable matchup in order to keep its playoff hopes alive, and that's exactly what it did. The short - handed Timberwolves simply did n't have enough talent available to hang with the Pelicans. Anthony Davis turned in another strong outing with 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists over 37 minutes. The Pelicans are now two games behind the Thunder for the final playoff spot in the West. Minnesota was already missing Kevin Martin, Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic, and Ricky Rubio for this game, and things got worse when Gorgui Dieng had to leave the game with a facial contusion. Dieng was held scoreless in nine minutes before exiting the contest. Robbie Hummel returned from a 29 - game absence due to a broken hand and finished with six points in 18 minutes off the bench. The Timberwolves will look to end their three game losing streak Monday when they host the Jazz. New Orleans took care of business Sunday, but a tough stretch awaits it starting Saturday. The Pelicans will start a three game road trip Wednesday against the Lakers and will then take on the Kings on Friday. From there, the Pelicans play the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Grizzlies, and Suns in a crucial stretch. Sunday's game was a solid all - around effort by the Pelicans, who shot 57 percent from the floor and will look to continue that sort of efficiency Wednesday against the Lakers.
["TeamStat(G,'Pelicans') has 57 Percentage of field goals ,has 34 Losses ,has 110 Total points ,has 39 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Timberwolves') has 57 Percentage of field goals ,has 88 Losses ,has 16 Total points ."]