THE Houston Rockets are back in the playoffs after clinching a postseason berth Sunday with a 113-90 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.

“We never talked about it, not once,” guard James Harden said.

“We clinched the playoffs? I did not know that,” coach Mike D’Antoni said.

“I didn’t even know,” Eric Gordon said. “The main task is to win a championship. We know what we’re capable of. Our mindset is to win a championship.”

On the way to what they hope will be bigger and better things than brushing aside the Pelicans or qualifying for the playoffs, the Rockets did accomplish the goals for the day.

They stayed sharp, sinking 21 of 49 3-pointers, never trailing and building a lead that reached 28. And they stayed healthy.

But there was a brief, dicey moment. With the Rockets at full strength (and giving Gerald Green and Nene the night off), Gordon turned his right ankle on a drive in the game’s second minute and limped off the court.

When he returned, he quickly showed there might not have been reason for concern, sinking five 3-pointers in his next 10 minutes and adding another in the second half before calling it a night with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter.

“I knew it would be OK,” Gordon said. “It’s very sore right now. It’ll be even more sore tomorrow. But I knew it would be OK and I needed to go out there and see how it would go. The best thing when you turn your ankle a little bit is to keep it going. It got better.”

Once he and Harden, who also had five 3-pointers in the first half, began to roll, the Rockets’ greatest challenge was to not lose interest so the standard of play the Rockets have hoped to maintain down the stretch — and will be necessary in the upcoming games against the Bucks and Nuggets — did not slip.

“I thought we had good energy to start the game, good defensive energy,” D’Antoni said. “Then when Eric and James hit the 3s, that’s tough on anybody. Then the bench came in and gave good energy also. That’s what you got to do; knock them out and get to the next one.”

Harden had 28 points in 29 minutes, the fewest he has played since Dec. 6. (SD-Agencies)