The New Orleans Pelicans are on a four-game winning streak, with each beaten opponent occupying playoff seedings as the NBA season winds to its close.
Two of the victories came against the two-time defending champion Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers, one of the hottest teams in the league. Sandwiched between those two was a win in which the Pelicans came back from a 22-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets.
However, as the Pelicans (31-40) readied to meet the Utah Jazz (23-49) on Friday night at Smoothie King Center, coach Monty Williams did not want to entertain it being a game his team could lose if it didn’t approach it with the intensity it has had in the previous four.