CHICAGO – Three weeks into the regular season, Anthony Davis has registered at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in seven of the eight full games he’s played. In eight of his 10 outings, DeMarcus Cousins has notched a 20-10 performance, highlighted by a 20-22 at Dallas. New Orleans’ All-Star duo has proven to be consistently productive early in 2017-18, but the Pelicans’ biggest X-factor in an effort to return to the postseason may be the effectiveness of their role players. Case in point: A rare sweep of a road back-to-back this weekend in Dallas and Chicago.
In the club’s first such 2-0 sweep since winning at Milwaukee and Brooklyn on consecutive nights in March 2015, reserves Darius Miller, Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen provided timely contributions.