HOUSTON – On Saturday, March 8, the Houston Rockets faced off against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The Rockets took care of the Pelicans in dominant fashion, winning 146-117 and never surrendering their double-digit lead in the second half.
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Dillon Brooks led the Rockets in scoring with 27, and Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 20.
Amen Thompson also had to exit the game after landing awkwardly. Head coach Ime Udoka didn’t have an update on his status in the postgame press conference, but he said it looked like Thompson rolled his ankle.
The Rockets had their highest-scoring game of the season, surpassing the team’s 143-107 victory over the Chicago Bulls back in November.
Tonight’s contest was the Rockets’ second-straight game against the Pelicans, as the teams met Thursday night in New Orleans. Houston won that game by a score of 109-97.
After tonight’s win, Udoka said the adjustments from Thursday night’s win helped the team be prepared for an even stronger performance this time around.
“We were much better today taking care of the ball,” Udoka said. “We had 20 [turnovers] last game, and only 10 tonight. [We] got shots, and got the same looks. They’re a team that likes to pack the paint and likes to cause turnovers... The fact that we just did it the other night against them, we saw some things and obviously, adjusted to that.”
The Rockets played the Pelicans four times this season, and Houston came out on top in every game.
Game recap
First quarter
The Rockets got off to a hot start, turning several early Pelicans’ turnovers into fast-break dunks. Alperen Sengun snagged at the ball as Trey Murphy III was dribbling, allowing Amen Thompson corral the loose ball and throw down a dunk on the other end, igniting an eruption from the Houston crowd.
Zion Williamson and Jordan Hawkins made some shots in the closing minutes of the first quarter to keep things from getting out of hand, but Houston still led 39-28 at the end of one.
Second quarter
Houston inflated its advantage in the early minutes of the second quarter, with Sengun, Aaron Holiday and Jabari Smith Jr. doing the heavy lifting.
A Dillon Brooks’ bucket made the score 60-40. The 20-point margin seemed to wake up the Pels, as they proceeded to go on a 13-2 scoring run to bring the margin back within nine points.
Their momentum was mostly short lived, though, as Houston ended the half on a 10-3 scoring run to take a 74-58 lead into the break.
At halftime, Brooks was the Rockets’ leading scorer with 13, while Sengun added 10. CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado each had 15 for New Orleans.
Third quarter
The Rockets came out of the locker room and picked up where they left off, quickly inflating their lead back to 20. After the team’s traded baskets for a little while, the Pelicans finally showed signs of life. McCollum, Jordan Hawkins and Karlo Matkovic each contributed to an 8-0 run that made the score 93-77, forcing a Rockets’ timeout.
The timeout seemed to be just what Houston needed to reorganize and get back in the driver’s seat. Holiday, Brooks and Smith all knocked down shots from deep as Houston snuffed out any spark that the Pels might have had. At the end of three, the Rockets led 109-83.
Fourth quarter
The starters remained in the game for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Rockets kept piling it on. Brooks dished the ball to Thompson on a cut, and he threw down a crowd-awakening slam that made the score 124-91 and forced a Pelicans’ timeout.
With 5:31 remaining and the score 129-96, Rockets’ head coach Ime Udoka finally elected to take his foot off the gas, calling a timeout and putting the team’s bench unit on the floor.
The teams each gave their bench guys some minutes, and Houston cruised to a 146-117 victory.
