Pelicans open road trip in Toronto

TORONTO -- The New Orleans Pelicans need to learn how to play on the road.

The Toronto Raptors need to learn how to play defense wherever they play.

A good place to start for both would be Tuesday night when they meet at the Air Canada Centre.

The Pelicans (19-29) are coming off a 3-3 homestand that included victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs before a 107-94 loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

"We proved that we can play with anybody if we play the right way," Pelicans forward Anthony Davis said. "We've got to come out and play desperate, each and every game.

"Even though we proved something on this homestand, we don't have that much room for error, especially battling for the eighth spot (in the Western Conference playoffs). There are a lot of other teams battling as well. We've got to do a little bit more."

The Pelicans now begin a stretch of nine of 12 on the road. They are 6-15 away from the Smoothie King Center.

New Orleans' next three games are on the road before the team returns home for two games.

"We've got to try to get these three on the road." Davis said. "It's tough on the road, but that's when we have to stay together the most. It's going to be tough. ... We've got to try to come out with a positive road trip."

Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday said, "If we start off playing hard and playing with pace and being consistent throughout that (game), we're a pretty good team."

The Pelicans have won only three of their past 13 meetings against the Raptors, who were 2-0 against New Orleans last season.

Favorable matchups do not seem to matter to the current Raptors, who have lost six of their past seven games after dropping a 114-113 verdict to the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday.

The Raptors, who are 7-9 in January, had won their previous seven home games against the Magic and 14 of the previous 15 meetings overall.

The problem for the Raptors (29-19) was again defense on Sunday. After seeming to find their defense in a 102-86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, they fell apart during second quarter on Sunday when Orlando went on a 19-0 run to take the lead.

"It's everybody, and that is what I told the team," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said when questioned about the lack of defense. "Everybody is involved, the whole group in this room, we're all accountable for this.

"It's a little bit of everything. Stopping the ball, transition defense, communication. You can go right down the line, we have almost every breakdown."

The Raptors will finish January with a below .500 record. It will be their first losing month since March 2015.

"We can't rely on the offense, because we always have a great quarter or two quarters offensively," said DeMar DeRozan, who scored 22 points Sunday after missing the previous three games with a sprained ankle. "But we can't rely on that to win us the game. We have to rely on four quarters defensively to get us through the game and let the offense take care of itself."

DeRozan agreed that this is the low point of the Raptors' season.

"Yes, it is," he said. "But it's all about how we bounce back and get out of it. We have a lot more basketball to play, a lot more, and we haven't even made it to the (All-Star) break yet. Before that, we have to figure it out and get it going. I'd rather now than later."