After being down by as much as 22 points, the New Orleans Pelicans (39-30) tried to rally back in the second half, but the Houston Rockets (55-14) proved to be too much on Saturday, handing them a 107-101 loss.
The Rockets quickly surged out to an 11-4 lead with 9:40 left in the first quarter and were able to keep control of the ballgame for much of the first quarter. However, the Pelicans were able to tie it up with 48 seconds left after a three-pointer from Nikola Mirotic.
New Orleans was able to take that momentum from the end of the first quarter and was able to take a lead after a solid jump shot from Mirotic with 8:06 left until halftime. However, Houston was able to get back out in front and took a 60-54 lead into the break.
The third quarter for the Pelicans went about as expected if you’ve watched this team all season, with the Rockets getting up by 20 points with five minutes left in the third quarter. However, New Orleans was able to put things together after that and were able to get it down to four points with 49 seconds left in regulation, but a pair of later free throws Chris Paul was enough to get the win.
The Pelicans will look to avoid losing their third straight on Sunday when they take on the Boston Celtics (47-22) with tipoff set for 5 pm.
-Clint Domingue