Without James Harden for a second straight game and Dwight Howard for a third, the undefeated Houston Rockets traveled to New Orleans on Tuesday night to face the Pelicans and came out losing in this one.
The Pelicans were ignited by Anthony Davis’ strong first quarter. Davis scored 11 points in the first six minutes of the game and finished with 13 in the quarter. Along with Davis, Jrue Holiday and Omer Asik were catalysts in the first quarter as well, scoring 7 and 8 points respectively. The Pelicans jumped out to a 32-15 lead, but the Rockets closed on a 9-1 run to end the first period.
Troy Daniels came on towards the end of the first quarter, hitting three straight three pointers. However, the Pelicans continued their fine play in the second quarter and extended their lead to 21 at one point and closed the half leading 66-52.
Davis continues his growth as an NBA player. He had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the first half. Him and Omer Asik were protecting the paint beautifully and will pose as major defensive threats in the paint throughout the season.
The Rockets battled hard in the third quarter and cut the Pelicans lead to 6 at the 3:36 mark of the quarter, but that was the closest they would get. New Orleans kept pouring it on from downtown and closed out the game, defeating the Rockets 117-98.
Jimmer Fredette has showed some good signs during the preseason so far and was on point with his shooting in this one, scoring 15 points on 3-of-5 from three-point distance.
Anthony Davis finished with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks. His frontcourt mate Asik put in 8 points and snatched 10 boards. Eric Gordon looked spry on the court as well as he put up 15 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Jrue Holiday, who missed most of last season, scored 14 points.
For the Rockets, rookie Kostas Papanikolaou was impressive as he was showing the entire package in this game. However, Isaiah Canaan led the Rockets in scoring for a second straight time with 14 points in this one. Troy Daniels scored 12 points, all from three-point land.
The Pelicans displayed incredible shooting in this game, going 53.8 percent from the field, 52.0 percent from threes, and 91.9 percent from the costless throw line. They also out-rebounded the Rockets 46-34. The interior defense was superior for New Orleans as they had 11 blocks compared to Houston’s 1 block. Only negative for the Pelicans was their 23 turnovers.
The New Orleans Pelicans will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their next game on October 16. The Houston Rockets will receive a long break as their next game falls on the 19th against the Golden State Warriors. Dwight Howard and James Harden may make their return for that game.