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Hobbled Pelicans entertain visiting Raptors

Feb 23, 2015 - 3:26 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Life without Anthony Davis lies ahead for the New Orleans Pelicans, who host the Toronto Raptors Monday night at the Smoothie King Center.

Davis could miss up to two weeks with a sprained right shoulder, the team announced Sunday.

Davis re-injured his shoulder in the first quarter of Saturday's 105-91 win over Miami when he collided with 7-foot Heat center Hassan Whiteside while going up for a shot in the paint.

The MVP candidate grabbed the shoulder in obvious pain and left the game after playing just nine minutes. The injury was confirmed by an MRI on Sunday, the teams said.

The Pelicans expect him to be sidelined for 1-to-2 weeks. The Pelicans also said forward Ryan Anderson suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee during Saturday's game. He will miss 2-for-4 weeks.

Eric Gordon had 24 points and six assists to lead the Pels. Omer Asik posted 15 points and nine rebounds, while Tyreke Evans added 13 points, six helpers and three steals for the Pelicans, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

"We could've tucked our tails and made up a bunch of excuses," said Pelicans coach Monty Williams. "Our guys have been through a lot. I had a really tough talk with our team earlier about playing the right way and caring for one another. That's what they showed tonight."

The Raptors are 1-1 on this four-game road trip, which ends Tuesday in Dallas.

After opening the sojourn with an impressive 25-point victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks, Toronto was no match for the Houston Rockets on Saturday. The Raptors fell, 98-76.

James Johnson provided 27 points and five rebounds for Toronto, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 11 apiece and DeMar DeRozan only managed 10 in defeat.

The Raptors played Saturday's game without Lou Williams, who sprained his ankle against the Hawks. Williams had 26, including seven made 3-pointers, versus Atlanta and his presence was missed in Houston.

"That plays a big part in it because he is definitely a big key coming in and changing the dynamics of the game, especially with the second group of guys," said DeRozan post-game. "Not having him out there definitely hurt us, but we still had too many turnovers and a lot of mental mistakes."

The Pelicans beat the Raptors up north on Jan. 18 to snap a six-game series losing streak. Toronto has taken three straight as the host in this matchup.