The Golden State Warriors play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center on Tuesday.

The Pelicans (38-37) are playing some of their best basketball of the season right now, winning five straight games coming into this matchup. They fell all the way out of the playoffs before this most recent run, though, posting a 10-25 record across their previous 35 games. That directly correlated with the Zion Williamson hamstring injury, and it's nice to see this club finally play well without their All-Star. Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum have played well all year, but it's the resurgence of Jonas Valanciunas that has carried them in their hot stretch. The big man is averaging 19 points and 16 rebounds in that winning streak, and they need him to keep playing like this with Zion out.

The Warriors (39-37) have lost four of their last seven games, suffering an ugly defeat on Sunday in their most recent outing. They had a lead in the final 20 seconds but committed two turnovers to lose 99-96 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to shoot 13-of-40 from the field in that defeat, and the club really struggled from an offensive perspective. That defeat has put Golden State in jeopardy, too, because they're only one game ahead of the Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves in seventh and eighth. This team wants to do everything to avoid the play-in tournament, but this game could play a huge factor in who that team is.

This is the fourth and final meeting between these teams, with New Orleans winning two of three. All three games have been decided by nine points or more.