HOUSTON – New Houston Rocket Russell Westbrook is already breaking records in a Rockets uniform. Westbrook took over in the 4th quarter in the 126-123 win and closed out the game with a 28-10-13 triple double.
Westbrook's first triple-double as a Rocket was the 139th of his career, breaking a tie for 2nd in NBA history with Magic Johnson. Westbrook's teammates, including Austin Rivers expressed their amazement at Westbrook's energy.
Rivers mentioned Westbrook's ability to get rebounds over 7-footers, something he did with aplomb against Jahlil Okafor and the Pelicans.
INEFFICIENT, EFFICIENT HARDEN
James Harden shot just 8-29, including 2-18 from 3, but still managed to score 29 points to hit as many points as shots. His 11-12 line at the charity stripe helped Harden end up with the most points on the Rockets.
McLEMORE STRUGGLES
The Rockets signed Ben McLemore to be another rotation guard, and after a strong first game where McLemore hit two threes, his four minutes against the Pelicans were hard to use. McLemore came in, missed two threes, and checked out.
The Rockets will need more consistency if McLemore wants to stay in the rotation.
NOT A BRICK HOUSE
Danuel House started the season as a starter and rewarded the Rockets Saturday night with an impressive shooting display. With the defense closing in on Westbrook and Harden's drives, House gets left open in the corner as much as P.J. Tucker.
He took advantage. House-made 4 of 5 threes and scored 15 points on just 6 total shots.