Houston Rockets Edge Out New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center
In a closely contested battle at the Smoothie King Center, the Houston Rockets secured a narrow victory over the New Orleans Pelicans with a final score of 106-104. The Rockets improved their season record to 15-12, while the Pelicans now stand at 17-13.
The game was marked by several lead changes and both teams displayed strong offensive efforts. The Houston Rockets led for over 21 minutes, with their largest lead being seven points. They were efficient on offense, posting an offensive rating of approximately 110 and an effective field goal percentage of about 48 percent. The team's scoring was spread across all four quarters with contributions from both starters and bench players, who added 19 points to the total tally.
Defensively, the Rockets managed to block two shots and steal the ball nine times from their opponents. They drew more fouls than they committed – drawing 22 fouls while only committing 20 themselves – which allowed them to attempt more free throws; they made about 77 percent of those attempts.
Key players for Houston stepped up in crucial moments; they scored a significant number of points in paint (46), capitalized on turnovers by scoring 23 points off them, and grabbed both offensive (13) and defensive rebounds (31). Their second-chance efforts were also notable as they converted half of their second-chance opportunities into points.
On the other side, despite having a slightly better efficiency rating at approximately 112 and leading for nearly eighteen-and-a-half minutes during gameplay, the New Orleans Pelicans fell short by two points. They had a stronger presence in paint with an impressive total of 58 paint points but struggled beyond the arc with only about a quarter of three-point attempts finding success.
The Pelicans' defense outperformed that of their rivals in terms of blocks with seven rejections but matched them in steals at nine apiece. Turnovers proved costly for New Orleans as they gave up possession sixteen times compared to twelve by Houston.
As fans look ahead after this nail-biting encounter between these two competitive teams, attention turns toward future matchups. The next game on schedule for Houston will be hosted at Toyota Center against Indiana Pacers on December twenty-sixth at seven PM Central Time. Fans can catch this upcoming game live on NBA TV channel two hundred sixteen or tune into local broadcasts such as Space City Home Network channel six hundred seventy-four or BSIN channel six hundred seventy-one dash four for away team coverage.