Alperen Sengun scored 22 points, Amen Thompson had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the visiting Houston Rockets ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 109-97 on Thursday night.
Tari Eason scored 20 points, Jabari Smith Jr. had 16 and Dillon Brooks added 14 for the Rockets, who took control by outscoring the Pelicans 33-15 in the third quarter. Houston ended an eight-game road losing streak by winning away from home for the first time since Jan. 28.
Trey Murphy III scored 26 points, but just 11 after the first quarter, to pace the Pelicans, who will visit Houston on Saturday night. Zion Williamson had 20 points and 10 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 13 and Yves Missi added 10 for New Orleans.
The Pelicans finished with 15 turnovers after committing just two while scoring 34 first-quarter points.
The Rockets shot 56.8 percent from the floor to more than offset the Pelicans’ 18-point advantage in free throws.
Four Rockets scored as they began the third quarter with a 9-1 run and took a 65-60 lead. Williamson made a layup for New Orleans’ first field goal of the quarter, but Sengun and Smith scored six points each in the frame, Thompson added four and Houston expanded the lead to 89-74 by the end of the period.
Kelly Olynyk made a 3-pointer to start the fourth-quarter scoring as the Pelicans began chipping away at the lead. Williamson’s layup trimmed the gap to 100-93 with 3:59 left before Steven Adams answered with a dunk and Thompson followed with a layup.
New Orleans raced out to a 24-13 lead in the opening quarter, courtesy of 11 points from Murphy, who finished the first with 15 points. The Pelicans led by 11 again before Jalen Green, Brooks and Eason each made a 3-pointer to help Houston close within 34-31 at the end of the first quarter.
Five Pelicans scored as they quickly rebuilt the lead to 45-35 early in the second quarter. New Orleans led by 10 points on two more occasions before Eason made a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run that reduced the lead to 59-56 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
