NEW ORLEANS - With the Rockets playing without center Clint Capela for a second consecutive game because of a bruised heel, Isaiah Hartenstein got the first start of his career.
Tyson Chandler had originally been announced as a starter for the second time in as many days after playing just three games in the rest of the month combined. But Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said he wanted to again limit Chandler’s playing time, perhaps more than usual in the second half of the back-to-back.
D’Antoni did seem to indicate that he wanted Chandler to play more regularly, though he described the 14 minutes Chandler played on Saturday as at the high end of the playing time he would get in his 19th NBA season.