A look at three key numbers related to Friday’s game at Wells Fargo Center between New Orleans and Philadelphia (6 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):
4: New Orleans rank among the 30 NBA teams in defensive efficiency during fourth quarters of games since April 1. The Pelicans again kept their postseason hopes alive Tuesday, when they outscored Golden State by a 33-24 margin in the final period, turning a four-point deficit into a five-point victory. New Orleans is allowing just 103.2 points per 100 possessions (via NBA.com) in fourth quarters since April Fool’s Day, placing behind only New York, Atlanta and Utah in that statistic. The Pelicans have ratcheted up their late-game defensive focus in some of their most important recent wins, including Saturday’s come-from-behind overtime thriller in Minnesota. Three days earlier on the same road trip, they outscored Denver by a 34-27 margin in the fourth quarter, but lost by two points, denied a chance to tie just before the buzzer.
56-11: Philadelphia home record since the start of the 2019-20 regular season, the best in the NBA during that span (Milwaukee is second at 53-15). New Orleans could not have picked a less hospitable venue to begin its crucial five-game road trip, visiting a 76ers team that went a league-best 31-4 at home last season and is 25-7 this season, second only to Utah’s 29-4 mark in Vivint Arena. Philadelphia is averaging 117.2 points per game in Wells Fargo Center, compared to 110.8 on the road. Oddly, the 76ers have lost three of their last five home games against Western Conference guests (recent defeats to Memphis, Golden State, Phoenix), but before that stretch, they’d won six straight. The five hosts on this New Orleans coast-to-coast trek sport a combined home record in 2020-21 of 94-66 (58.8 winning percentage), although Memphis and Dallas have actually won more on the road than in their home arenas.
1-4: New Orleans record when Brandon Ingram does not play this season, as will be the case Friday (the 2020 All-Star forward is out due to a left ankle sprain). The fourth-year pro appeared in each of the team’s first 46 games, prior to being sidelined for five straight contests April 1-7. Among only four games all season in which the Pelicans have lost by 20-plus points, two of those one-sided defeats occurred during that stretch, a 23-point home loss to Atlanta and a 28-point rout at Brooklyn. Zion Williamson did not play in the Hawks game and struggled to a 4/12 shooting night against the Nets with Ingram in street clothes. During that week-long stretch sans Ingram, New Orleans individual shooting percentages decreased nearly across the board, with Williamson at “only” 53 percent and multiple guards hovering around 40 percent.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
NEW ORLEANS (30-36, 11TH IN WEST)
Tuesday win vs. Golden State
Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Steven Adams
Notes: This group is 17-24, but has not been intact for consecutive games since April 22 and 24. It will not be together Friday either, because Ingram has been ruled out due to an ankle injury. James Johnson has made five starts during the second half of 2020-21, while Naji Marshall has started four games since April 2. … New Orleans is 1.5 games behind No. 10 San Antonio (31-34) in the race for the final play-in spot. The Pelicans are also three games back of Memphis (33-33) and 3.5 behind Golden State (34-33).
PHILADELPHIA (45-21, 1ST IN EAST)
Wednesday win at Houston
Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
Notes: This group is 25-4, arguably the NBA’s premier starting lineup in 2020-21. … Philadelphia is on a six-game winning streak; its primary starters have been together for each of the past five games. … The 76ers are 2.5 games ahead of second-place Brooklyn (43-24), holding a magic number of 3 to ensure they will finish ahead of the Nets. Since Philadelphia does not have the tiebreaker on third-place Milwaukee (42-24), the 76ers’ magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East is 4.
PELICANS KEYS TO VICTORY PRESENTED BY FANDUEL
NO BROTHERLY LOVE ON DEFENSE
Philadelphia’s season low in scoring is 94 points, which it has produced in four separate games. One of those instances occurred April 9, when the 76ers shot 42 percent from the field at New Orleans. Embiid was limited to 5/16 shooting, a frustrating night that caused the MVP candidate to return to the Smoothie King Center floor after the buzzer to work on his shot.
DO IT BIG
With Adams doubtful to play Friday, backup bigs Willy Hernangomez and Jaxson Hayes could be significant factors, as was the case in the April 9 home win over Philadelphia. Hernangomez and Hayes combined to shoot 10/12 from field, totaling 22 points and 16 rebounds against the 76ers.
SCORING BALANCE
New Orleans needs to find a way to compensate for the injury absence of Ingram, who is averaging exactly 23.8 points for a second straight season.
