The New Orleans Pelicans could have dodged a rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers by securing a top-six playoff berth and prevailing in the final regular-season clash on Sunday.

However, the Lakers once again demonstrated their superiority over the Pelicans, setting up a showdown in New Orleans on Tuesday during the NBA play-in phase without having to travel.

The victor in the match between the No. 8 seed Lakers (47-35) and the No. 7 Pelicans (49-33) will progress to face the second-seeded Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference playoffs’ first round.

Meanwhile, the defeated team will have another opportunity to advance to the playoffs on Friday, with their play-in adversary being either the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings.

During Sunday’s decisive 124-108 victory over New Orleans, the Lakers surged ahead by as much as 32 points. Los Angeles had previously defeated the Pelicans by 44 points on December 7 and emerged victorious in three out of four encounters this season.

Despite leading the Lakers to victory on the Pelicans’ home court, LeBron James isn’t complacent about the impending matchup.

“Tuesday’s game is going to be extremely hard, extremely difficult, extremely physical,” James said. “I’ve always known that, when you play a playoff series — and I look at this like a two-game playoff series — if you win that first game, a team has multiple days to kind of sit on that feeling, or sit with that taste in their mouth of defeat.”

“So they’re going to be extremely ready for us and we have to come in with the same sense of urgency that we had the previous game.”

Pelicans coach Willie Green is determined not to overlook the bitter taste left prior to kickoff.

“We have to come back with the right mentality,” Green said. “They were the aggressors. We have to be the aggressive team. We have to be the more physical team. We have to keep them out of our paint and make them take contested shots and rebound the ball.”

“They played with a ton of force. They came out right away. At least for the first half, they punched us right in the mouth and kept going.”

During the comfortable victory, James delivered an impressive performance with 28 points, a season-high 17 assists, 11 rebounds, and five steals. Anthony Davis contributed 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting, along with 11 rebounds before exiting in the final quarter due to back spasms.

Despite being listed as questionable on the injury report, Davis affirmed his commitment to playing against the Pelicans, the team where he spent the initial seven seasons of his NBA career.

“No doubt that I’m going to play,” Davis said after Los Angeles won for the 11th time in its past 14 games. “Get some treatment, keep it loose, just see how I feel over the next 24-36 hours.”

Following a 12-game absence, New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram returned and managed to score 13 points in 23 minutes during Sunday’s game. Ingram is expected to have an expanded role in Tuesday’s matchup.

CJ McCollum has been a standout performer for the Pelicans this month, recording 25 points on Sunday for his seventh consecutive game with 25 or more points.

McCollum has surpassed the 30-point mark four times during this streak, shooting 52.5% (42 of 80) from beyond the arc in the last seven games.

However, McCollum’s remarkable effort didn’t impact Sunday’s game significantly.

Zion Williamson managed just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, often under the close defense of James, as New Orleans conceded 70 points in the first half after returning home from a successful 4-0 road trip.

“We didn’t play well enough to win,” McCollum said. “We will be better in the next game. It was a good road trip. We got four wins on the road. Now we have to take care of business on home court.”