A look at three key numbers related to Saturday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between Minnesota and New Orleans (6 p.m., Fox Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):
7: Consecutive wins for the Pelicans in head-to-head matchups against the Timberwolves, a streak that dates back to the 2013-14 season. The last time Minnesota prevailed over New Orleans was Jan. 29, 2014, but the Pelicans won the next meeting, as well as all four last season, along with two more so far in 2015-16. New Orleans has registered 116 and 114 points against Minnesota during two recent triumphs, winning by margins of 14 and 15 points.
5-2: New Orleans record in the past 2.5 weeks, starting with a Feb. 8 victory at Minnesota, which improved the Pelicans’ head-to-head record vs. the Timberwolves to 2-0 on the season. The Pelicans are in the midst of one of their best stretches of 2015-16, with recent wins over Utah, Detroit and Oklahoma City. New Orleans has also won nine of its last 12 home games, after starting 7-9 on its homecourt.
8, 17: Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns’ ranks in Player Efficiency Rating among all NBA players. Towns (22.73) is the highest-rated rookie by a fairly significant margin, with Denver’s Nikola Jokic somewhat surprisingly No. 2 among first-year pros at 21.97. The much-discussed Kristaps Porzingis of New York is third (18.49). As a rookie in 2012-13, Davis finished 15th in PER among all players at 21.80, though Towns plays slightly more (30.6 minutes per game) than AD (28.8 mpg) did in Year 1.
