Lakers' Dwight Howard: Cleared to play, will start

Howard (hip) will start Sunday's game against the Pelicans, Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet reports.

Howard emerged from Wednesday's loss to the Sixers with a sore hip, but he'll push through it and make his fifth straight start at center. In that loss, Howard had one of his best games of the season, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 28 minutes -- his second-highest workload in any game this season.