A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game at the Paycom Center between New Orleans and Oklahoma City (6 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, 100.3 FM):
1,355: Days since New Orleans won five games in a row during the regular season, something the Pelicans will attempt to achieve Sunday in Oklahoma City. The last time New Orleans strung together a five-game winning streak was the finale of the 2017-18 regular season, when it cemented a No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 24-point home rout of San Antonio on April 11, 2018. The Pelicans went on to sweep Portland in the first round of the postseason, becoming the lowest-seeded NBA club to win an opening-round series 4-0. New Orleans’ ongoing four-game win streak actually began in Oklahoma City on Dec. 15, when Devonte’ Graham authored one of the most memorable shots in team history, a 61-foot bank shot at the buzzer. Over the past 11 days, the Pelicans have been a top-10 squad at both ends of the floor, ranking eighth in defense (107.6 points allowed per 100 possessions, via NBA.com) and 10th on offense (113.9 rating). Perhaps not as surprisingly given the constant fluctuating lineups across the league lately, New Orleans has the league’s longest active winning streak. Only Milwaukee, Golden State and Utah even have current three-game win streaks.
5: New Orleans players averaging over 15 points per game over the four contests since Dec. 15 (two of those handful of Pelicans only appeared in three of the four games). Graham’s best shooting stretch of the season is a big reason why New Orleans has been on a roll lately, with the guard averaging 17.8 points and shooting 48 percent from three-point range (he is 20/42 from deep). Prior to Dec. 15, the most treys Graham had made over any four-game span this season was 13. Three of Graham’s five most productive nights from the perimeter as a Pelican have all come during this recent stretch, including going 8/12 vs. Milwaukee, 5/10 at Oklahoma City and 5/14 at Orlando (he knocked down six treys at Chicago on Oct. 22, as well as five vs. Atlanta on Oct. 27). Among the Pelicans who’ve appeared in each of the last four games, Brandon Ingram is averaging a team-best 28.8 points, followed by Graham and Josh Hart (16.0 ppg).
5: Oklahoma City ranking among the 30 NBA teams in defensive efficiency since Dec. 15, a significant improvement from the Thunder’s previous performance at that end of the floor. Like New Orleans, Oklahoma City has turned in a strong second half of December so far, putting together its own three-game winning streak prior to losing at red-hot Phoenix in its most recent game Thursday. Like the Pelicans, the Thunder are a very good rebounding team, ranking sixth in defensive rebounding percentage (74.1), a category in which New Orleans leads the league (75.2). Most teams find it difficult to run against the Thunder, who’ve allowed the NBA’s second-fewest fast-break points per game at just 8.8 (New Orleans is 10th in that stat at 11.4). OKC is also ninth-best in paint points allowed, giving up just 43.7 per game.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
NEW ORLEANS (12-21)
Thursday win at Orlando
Devonte’ Graham, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones, Willy Hernangomez
Notes: This group is 1-0. The same starting guards and forwards, but with Jonas Valanciunas at center instead of Hernangomez, has gone 7-3. … Seven New Orleans players are officially listed as out Sunday, including Valanciunas (non-Covid illness) and key reserve Nickeil Alexander-Walker (health and safety protocols). Valanciunas and Alexander-Walker had played in all 32 games prior to being sidelined for the win over the Magic. … New Orleans has used nine different starting lineups. On Thursday, Hernangomez became the ninth different Pelican to start a game in 2021-22.
OKLAHOMA CITY (11-20)
Thursday loss at Phoenix
Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aaron Wiggins, Lu Dort, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Notes: This group is 1-1, registering a Dec. 18 home win over the Clippers on a Gilgeous-Alexander game-winning jumper. That was the first triumph of a three-game win streak for the Thunder, who went with Derrick Favors as a starter in subsequent victories over Memphis and Denver, before returning Wiggins to the first unit against the Suns. … OKC has used 11 different starting lineups. The most common is 5-9 and features Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, Robinson-Earl and Darius Bazley.
FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
BOARD BATTLE
New Orleans will not have its leading rebounder for a second straight game (Valanciunas), narrowly prevailing on the boards 46-44 at Orlando without him Thursday. In the two games vs. Oklahoma City this season, the Pelicans won rebounding 49-42 in their Dec. 15 road win, but lost it 56-50 in their Nov. 10 home loss. OKC has been sporadically relied on a small starting lineup, with forwards who are listed at just 6-4 and 6-3, along with a 6-9 center.
BENCH BOOST
Willie Green was complimentary of the Thursday spark provided in Orlando by Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and Trey Murphy III. “We needed everyone to come in and contribute,” Green said. “And all of the guys did it. It’s next man up for us.” That trio combined for 23 points on 8/18 shooting (4/10 on threes), helping to compensate for Alexander-Walker’s absence. To avoid in-game lulls, New Orleans needs its second unit to again step forward against the Thunder.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
When New Orleans played at OKC 11 days ago, the outcome came down to miraculous shots in the final seconds by guards – first Gilgeous-Alexander, then Graham from 61 feet. For New Orleans, starting guards Graham and Hart are coming off an excellent performance at Orlando, combining to score 42 points and sink nine three-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28.5 points in two games vs. NOLA this season, while Giddey has totaled 21 rebounds and 16 assists.