Halo

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without one of their key starters for the time being.

The team announced on Thursday that Tyreke Evans will miss the Pelicans' clash with the Houston Rockets with a right knee contusion:



John Reid of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans reported that Austin Rivers will take Evans' place in the team's starting lineup:



The 25-year-old has been one of the Pelicans' better players through the first quarter of the 2014-15 NBA regular season. He's averaging 17 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists so far, all of which are up from his 2013-14 averages.

Bleacher Report's Howard Beck reported that New Orleans has received some queries as to Evans' availability but that the team is more than happy to keep him on the roster:



New Orleans enters Thursday holding onto the eighth seed in the Western Conference by a mere half-game. In order to maintain that slim edge on the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder, they'll need a healthy Evans on the court.

Read more New Orleans Pelicans news on BleacherReport.com



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