NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton has played in only seven games this season, and his team has won six of them.The latest one came Monday night as he returned from a broken finger that caused a 22-game absence over six weeks."It felt good, man. It felt better to finish a game," Payton said after helping New Orleans turn back the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-114 by scoring nine points in 24 minutes to go with six assists, a rebound and a steal."Get a win. That's all it was about," Payton said. "Do as much to help as possible — try to bring intensity on defense."Payton, who also happens to be a New Orleans native, was acquired as a free agent this past offseason to fill the void left by Rajon Rondo's departure for the Los Angeles Lakers.New Orleans started 4-0 with him in the lineup. The Pelicans lost to Utah when he left early because of a sprained ankle that sidelined him for nine games. They won when he briefly returned against the New York Knicks on Nov. 16, only to break... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans held the first practice of their new, more challenging reality Saturday — less than 24 hours after losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season because of his Achilles tear.The question now is: What happens to a team that has won seven of eight and was coalescing around its somewhat unconventional lineup featuring Cousins and fellow All-Star big man Anthony Davis?"It changes for everyone, but that doesn't mean we can't accomplish what we set out to do," coach Alvin Gentry said after practice. "And that's to be a playoff team."The Pelicans' offense has largely run through Cousins, who'll miss his first game this season Sunday afternoon, when New Orleans hosts the Los Angeles Clippers."We have to obviously realign some things and rethink some things that we've done and probably add a few things and take away a few things," Gentry said. "We have to adjust and figure out how we can best work with what we have now."Cousins,... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard DeAndre Liggins to a 10-day contract.The roster addition, announced on Wednesday, comes after the Pelicans received an injury hardship exemption by the NBA.The 6-foot-6 Liggins has played in 31 games earlier this season with Milwaukee, averaging 1.8 points, 1.6 rebounds in a little more than 15 minutes per game.Liggins, who was a teammate of Darius Miller at Kentucky, has played in 150 career regular season games with Orlando, Oklahoma City, Miami, Cleveland, Dallas and Milwaukee since joining the NBA as a Magic second-round draft choice in 2011.The Pelicans say Liggins is available to play in Wednesday night's game in Memphis.___More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

G Darius Miller (3 of 5) has made multiple 3-pointers in 13 of his past 16 games.

F Darius Miller started in place of Anthony Davis, who is day-to-day with an injury that kept him out for a third game. Miller scored 10 points.

F Darius Miller who leads the NBA in 3-point percentage at 48.4, started the season 2 of 15 from the 3-point line. Since then, he has gone 43 of 80 (53.8) from beyond the arc. Miller scored 10 points and made 2 of 6 3-point attempts.

F Darius Miller is shooting 49.4 percent from 3-point range this season, ranking second among all NBA players.

G Darius Miller hit four 3-pointers in the final 5:45 and scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter Monday.

G Darius Miller made his first start in the NBA since Nov. 25, 2014 Thursday. He spent two seasons playing overseas and appeared played 5:48 at Sacramento.