NBA: Injury-riddled Pelicans host undefeated Cavaliers

Zion Williamson, alero de los Pelicans de Nueva Orleáns, festeja luego de atinar un disparo y recibir una falta en el encuentro del viernes 1 de noviembre de 2024, ante los Pacers de Indiana (AP Foto/Matthew Hinton)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to lose a game this season.

The New Orleans Pelicans are just trying to find enough healthy bodies to keep up as they host the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers have matched the 8-0 start of their 1976 team after one-point and two-point victories in a home-and-home set of games against Milwaukee. Cleveland won its first six games by an average of 17 points.

READ: NBA: Cavaliers improve to 8-0, nip struggling Bucks again

“This is what it’s all about, right?” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “These last five minutes, clutch minutes — and how are we going to execute? How are we going to finish this game? These are great if you want to succeed in the playoffs. You’ve got to be really good in the pressure moments. I like that. We got pressure situations. We practiced it and fortunately came out on top.”

Donovan Mitchell scored the final two of his 30 points with a last-second jumper in a 114-113 victory at Milwaukee on Saturday.

On Monday, Mitchell scored just 14 points, shooting 5-of-15 from the floor, but Darius Garland scored 39 points in a 116-114 win over the visiting Bucks. Cleveland finished with an 18-8 run during the final 6:06 and Garland’s 3-pointer gave the Cavs the lead for good with 45 seconds remaining.

“It can’t be Donovan every night,” Atkinson said. “Donovan’s been unbelievable and to Donovan’s credit tonight he knew he didn’t have it going and he just said, ‘Go ahead DG, you got it.’

“That’s how it works sometimes. That’s part of the strength of this group — that they’re selfless. They share it. Whoever’s got it going, they get him the ball.”

Atkinson said the Cavs didn’t have their usual “juice” as they completed a stretch of eight games in 13 days and “gutted it out.”

New Orleans is going through a gut-check of its own because of a series of injuries to key players. Brandon Ingram was the only one of the Pelicans’ top five scorers to suit up for a 118-100 loss to visiting Portland on Monday, and he scored 27 points.

READ: NBA: Pelicans’ CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones nursing injuries

Zion Williamson (hamstring) and Jordan Hawkins (back) are day-to-day, but Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III aren’t close to returning. In those absences, guard Brandon Boston Jr. has taken advantage of increased minutes and averaged 16 points over the last three games.

“He’s aggressive and assertive,” coach Willie Green said of Boston, who was signed to a two-way contract shortly before the season started. “He’s putting his stamp on every game and carving out an opportunity for himself.”

Boston figures to keep getting shooting opportunities as Ingram is routinely being double-teamed.

“(Boston is) another guard that can create,” Ingram said. “I think he got into his mix a little bit. He definitely provided some scoring for us, some good decisions on the offensive end. It was good to have him out there. …

“(I have to) stay aware, stay aggressive, don’t get frustrated (and) just keep going, find my shots when I can, keep my teammates involved and trusting them to make the right play.”