Rockets suffer 'terrible loss' to New Orleans Pelicans

Posted: January 30, 2019 -- 6:59 a.m.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets (29-21) had a 'terrible loss' to the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night. Poor defense was a big reason for the 121-116 loss.

New Orleans won the game despite five players, including Anthony Davis and Julius Randleout of the lineup.

"Yeah. (It’s a) terrible loss for us, terrible," James Harden said in the locker room. (It’s a) let down."

"We're not good enough to just turn it (the energy) on," Harden added. "So, we've got to get off to really good starts; and, obviously, tonight was one of those nights where we didn't play well defensively. And, even though we shot the ball well, (when) you give teams, especially early in the game, they're capable of anything."

Houston shot lights out for most of the first quarter. The Rockets made 8 of its first 13 three-point shots in the opening quarter and led 35-23 with 1:55 remaining in the quarter. However, Houston missed 3 consecutive three-point shots to finish the quarter while the Pelicans scored the final 5 points in the quarter.

The Rockets' three-point shooting sputtered in the second quarter. Houston shot 33.3% (3 for 9) in the second period; however, Houston made 8 for 12 two-point field goals and scored 31 points in the quarter. New Orleans (23-28) also scored 31 in the quarter; and, Houston led 66-59 at halftime.

Though lapses on defense appeared in the first half, the wheel fell off for the Rockets in the third quarter. The Pelicans shot 66.7% (14 for 21) in the quarter and outscored the Rockets 35-25. Twenty-four of the 35 points came in the paint.

"We were ahead because we shot the ball exceedingly well in the first; and, I told them it lulls you into thinking you're okay and you're not okay, because you're not guarding," Mike D'Antoni said after the game. "Then we go cold and they started making shots, and all of a sudden we find ourselves behind, and it's a recipe for losing. We did it and own it; and, we'll move on and we just can't have too many nights like this."

Houston had no answer for big man Jahlil Okafor. Okafor scored 9 of his team-high 27 points in the third period. Okafor made 11 of 15 field goal attempts in the game.

The Pelicans shot 56.2% (9 for 16) in the fourth quarter and led by as much as 12 points. Jrue Holiday victimized the Rockets in the fourth. Holiday scored six straight points to boost the lead to 12 with 1:59 left in the game.

Houston's defense was a sieve in the second half. The Pelicans shot 62.2% (23 for 37) in the half.

"They were getting us on slips, backdoors, threes, everything," Chris Paul acknowledged. "So, our defense definitely got to be better and our communication."

Houston sparked to life on offense and defense in the final two minutes and managed a 10-2 run to climb within 4 (118-114) with 22.4 seconds remaining in the game; however, the Pelicans made three of 4 foul shots in the waning seconds to seal the win.

Jrue Holiday blocked 6 shots (including three on James Harden) in the game. Holiday's defense helped limit James Harden to an 11 for 32 field goal shooting night.

"I just tried to show him different things," said Holiday. "Definitely tried to trap him any chance we got. We tried to trap him and tried to make him see two people. At least, try to get him to pass the ball and have somebody else make a play. We know how great of a playmaker he is. (We) Just tried to make it difficult."

Kenrich Williams pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds for the Pelicans.

"That's all that rebounding is about (getting to the ball)," Williams said. "It's just going every time and playing hard and giving it all you've got."

James Harden scored 17 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter, extending his streak of scoring 30 or more to 23 games.

NOTES:

James Harden finished the month of January averaging 43.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.07 steals and 1.21 blocks. He scored a total of 610 points in the 14 games this month. Dating back to 1972-73, Michael Jordan (March of 1987) was the only other player to have scored at least 600 points in a single month. Harden joins Wilt Chamberlain (November of 1961) as the only players to have scored 600+ points in a single month with fewer than 15 games played. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Harden's 43.6 ppg in January was the seventh-highest scoring average in a single month in NBA history (10+ games played) with Chamberlain holding the top six spots.

The Rockets were outrebounded 55-45 tonight. Houston has played the past eight games without Clint Capela, who is ranked seventh in the NBA with 12.6 rpg. In those games, the Rockets have been outrebounded by an average of 11.1 boards. Houston is 17-3 when outrebounding its opponent this season and 12-18 when failing to do so.

NEXT:

The Rockets' next game is Friday, February 1, in Denver, against the Denver Nuggets. Tip is set for 9 p.m.

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