A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between Houston and New Orleans (7 p.m. Central, Fox Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):
41, 39, 38, 37: Minutes played by four of Houston’s starters during a Saturday 108-98 home win over Brooklyn, led by Danuel House (who logged 40:34, to be exact). It’s a short flight from Eastern Texas to Southeast Louisiana, but the Rockets theoretically will be the less-rested team when they visit the Pelicans tonight, with several players having been taxed a bit 24 hours ago against the Nets. Furthermore, Houston will be playing Sunday without Clint Capela (right heel) and Russell Westbrook (rest), while James Harden (toe) is listed as questionable. Those three Rockets have combined to average over 75 points per game this season, as Houston’s top three scorers (House is the fourth-leading scorer at 11.0 ppg, slightly ahead of Eric Gordon’s 10.9). New Orleans also played Saturday, but by building a big fourth-quarter edge in an eventual 120-98 victory, only Brandon Ingram (34) and Lonzo Ball (30) logged 30-plus minutes against the Pacers.
7: New Orleans rank in rebounding percentage over its last five games, a 4-1 stretch that includes an active three-game winning streak. While beating Minnesota, Portland, Denver and Indiana since Dec. 18, the Pelicans are grabbing 52.5 percent of available rebounds, after they were a below-average club in the previous 28 games, at just 48.9 percent (ranking No. 21 among the 30 NBA teams). It’s been a complete reversal on the backboards for New Orleans, an improvement that coincides with the return to a significant minutes allotment for center Derrick Favors. The 10-year veteran has pulled down double-digit boards in each of those five games, while the Pelicans as a team have outrebounded their opponent all five nights.
124.0: Houston scoring average in the previous two matchups this season vs. New Orleans. In two games that bear zero resemblance to the types of contests New Orleans has been playing recently, Houston rang up victories by scores of 126-123 and 122-116. The Pelicans hope to limit the Rockets much more on the scoreboard in meeting No. 3, and are encouraged by their recent defensive improvement, as the NBA’s second-most efficient team at that end of the floor since Dec. 18. New Orleans has not given up 122 points or more since a 130-119 defeat to Orlando on Dec. 15, which in hindsight may have been a turning point for the Pelicans. The Magic are 26th in the league in offensive efficiency, but rolled to huge numbers in their only visit to the Smoothie King Center two weeks ago.
