Rockets roll over Pelicans 146-117

A big win for Houston, but they also suffered a loss.

The Houston Rockets got their second straight win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, never trailing in a wire-to-wire 146-117 victory. However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Houston, as Amen Thompson, who finished one rebound shy of a triple double with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists, rolled his ankle and went to the locker room. Coach Ime Udoka left him in to get last rebound for the triple double, and it backfired.

Let’s hope it’s not too bad for Amen and the Rockets, who played last night without both Fred VanVleet and Reed Sheppard. But all five Rockets starters finished with double-figure scoring, led by Dillon Brooks with 27 points on 7-for-11 from three-point range. Alperen Sengun had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and Aaron Holiday pitched in 20 points off of the bench. Jalen Green had 14, Tari Eason 12, and Jabari Smith Jr. had 14 off of the bench as well.

Houston’s offense was humming, as evidenced by the 146 points, 55.5 percent shooting from the floor, 17-for-40 shooting from deep and only 10 total turnovers on the night.

As for the Pels, they were led by Zion Williamson with 20 points, while CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado had 17.

The Rockets now move to 39-25 on the season, and they still stand in fifth place in the Western Conference standings, though they are now just a half-game back of the fourth-place Memphis Grizzlies. They are three games in front of the sixth-place Golden State Warriors. The Rockets will return to action on Monday versus the Orlando Magic.